Abstract
Cadmium (Cd) is one of the major hazardous elements that is very toxic to the health of both human and plants. The toxicity of Cd causes plants to suffer by disabling their overall physiological mechanisms. Therefore, present study was intended to investigate the synergistic role of AgNPs and IAA in improving the resilience against Cd toxicity and underlaying physiological and biochemical mechanisms in carrot (Daucus carota L.) plants. Also, the existence of genotypic variation for Cd tolerance in D. carota was also studied. The results revealed that Cd stress decreased plant growth attributes like root diameter, root length, root weight, shoot weight, shoot length, leaves fresh weight and leaves dry weight. Nonetheless, AgNPs and IAA mitigated Cd stress by detoxifying reactive oxygen species (ROS). Additionally, the application of AgNPs and IAA boosted plant growth through reducing the level of malondialdehyde (MDA). Enhancement in the activity of phenol synthesizing and oxidizing enzymes including peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase was also observed by application of AgNPs and IAA. The increased activities of antioxidant enzymes including POX, PPO and PAL by the combined application of AgNPs and IAA advocate stress ameliorative role against Cd stress in plants. The enhanced Cd content was detected in the roots as compared to shoots of treated plants. Pre breed 22 was found as a Cd tolerant genotype.