Abstract
Pot experiments were performed to assess the role of selenium in growth regulation of Solanum lycopersicum and its ameliorative role under cadmium stress. Cadmium (200 mu M CdCl2) treatment reduced growth considerably and application of selenium (1.2 mu mol/L) improved growth and also mitigated the deleterious effects of cadmium. Selenium increased chlorophyll and carotenoid which were however reduced by cadmium stress. Cadmium treated plants showed higher lipid peroxidation and selenium caused improvement in membrane stability by reducing the production of hydrogen peroxide. Activities of antioxidant enzymes assayed increased with selenium treatment providing stability to cellular structures by quick removal of reactive free radicals. GSH and AsA were increased by 14.2% and 21.07/0 due to selenium application, however along with cadmium, it caused an increase of 40.5% and 45.7% respectively. Proline and phenol content increased with selenium providing osmotic stability to S. lycopersicum for cadmium tolerance. Moreover, selenium treatment declined the uptake of cadmium significantly.