Response of maize to hydrogen peroxide priming under chromium stress

Chromium (Cr) is a heavy metal and has toxic effects on plants. Pretreatment of seeds with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) can improve stress tolerance. Present investigation was made to study the response of maize (Zea mays L.) to H2O2 (80 μM) priming under chromium stress (100 and 200 μM) at seed germination and seedling stage. Experiments were conducted in Petri plates in completely randomized block design with three replications. A significant decrease was found in photosynthetic pigments, and germination and tolerance index of seedlings under chromium stress. Sugar and proline content were increased under chromium treatment. Tolerance was improved by the application of hydrogen peroxide (80 μM). present study concludes that pretreatment of maize seeds with optimum dose of H2O2 can help the plant in improving the tolerance to chromium stress at germination and seedling growth stage.