Cd tolerance and accumulation in barley: screening of 36 North African cultivars on Cd-contaminated soil

In North Africa, barley (Hordeum vulgare L) is the second most cultivated cereal. In Tunisia, barley is cultivated in mining areas with possible Cd soil contamination. The accumulation of Cd was studied in the 36 most cultivated North African barley cultivars cultured during 6 months on control soil and on soil containing 10 ppm of Cd. Cadmium did not affect germination and morphology in any cultivar. However, Cd induced variable effects on the biomass according to the cultivar. The cultivar Lemsi was the most sensitive one and Gisa 127 the most tolerant to Cd. The spike morphology did not show any differences between control and Cd-treated plants. The number of grains per spike and the weight of kernels were differently affected by Cd. On this basis, we identified Manel, Temassine, Giza 130, and Firdaws as the most tolerant cultivars and Raihane, Giza 123, Adrar, and Amira as the most sensitive ones. Cd accumulated at a higher concentration in straw than in the grains, but for both organs, we observed a significant intraspecific variability. In the straw, Lemsi and Massine showed the highest Cd concentration, while the lowest concentration was recorded in Temassine. In the kernels, Amalou showed the highest Cd concentration, 14 μgg−1 of dry weight (DW), but the lowest Cd concentration was 1.7 μg g−1 DW in Kebelli. Based on the official allowable limit of Cd in the grain, all cultivars represent a potential risk when cultivated on soil contaminated with 10 ppm Cd. The molecular and physiological basis responsible for the differences in Cd tolerance and accumulation among barley cultivars will require more investigations.