Shoot Cadmium Accumulation and Photosynthetic Performance of Barley Plants Exposed to High Cadmium Treatments

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L., cv. Ribeka) plants grown in sand culture were exposed for 10 days to high cadmium (Cd) treatments in order to study both shoot Cd accumulation and photosynthetic performance. Cadmium inhibited root dry mass and induced changes in biomass allocation pattern without any effect on biomass accumulation at the whole plant level. The maximal shoot Cd concentration—41 ± 8 mg Cd kg−1 DW—without any visual toxicity symptoms on the shoots was found at 28 mg Cd kg−1 sand. Reduced leaf gas exchange, photosynthetic pigments content and electron transport activity but not altered lipid peroxidation status of thylakoids was, however, detected at the highest treatment—42 mg Cd kg−1 sand. The results indicated good tolerance of barley growth and photosynthetic machinery to Cd, but the shoot Cd accumulation achieved even in the artificial conditions was considered insufficient for short-term phytoextraction.