Developmental and Physiological Responses of Pisum sativum L. after Short- and Long-Time Cadmium Exposure

Cadmium (Cd) as a toxic element has a significant effect on plants. The presented study was focused on the analysis of the differences between the short- (one day) and long-time (7 and 28 days) effects of Cd (10, 50, 100 and 200 μM CdSO 4 ) on P. sativum L. The analysis showed that Cd treatment generally reduced the accumulation of Ca, K and Mn in pea plants. The elevation of the photosynthesis rate was observed after one day of Cd treatment. However, the opposite effect after 7 and 28 days of Cd treatment was noticed, and it was similar for all Cd concentrations used during the experiment. The influence of the Cd application on the development was observed after 28 days of treatment. The delay of the flowering time and stress-induced flowering (increase of the total number of flowers that did not develop the matured pods) evoked by Cd, except for plants treated with the lowest Cd concentration, was noticed. Interestingly, the highest Cd concentration increased root length but changed its structure and increased the ratio of the number of internodes to the shoot length. These results indicate that Cd actions substantially differ after 1, 7 and 28 days of treatment. Moreover, the raise or inhibition of physiological responses and development highly depends on Cd concentration.