Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal, which is seen in the contaminated soils and severely affects the growth and development of plants in recent years. The study on the seed germination and morpho-physiological growth characteristics of barnyard millet (Echinochloa frumentacea) cultivar CO (KV) 2 treated with different concentrations (50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 mg/kg of soil) of Cd were evaluated at 15th, 30th, and 45th day of interval. The findings of this research demonstrate that the maximum dosage of Cd (250 mg/kg of soil) affects the germination percentage (65%) of barnyard millet. Seedling vigor index has been negatively influences a drop in germination percentage. Increasing concentrations of Cd reveals the growth of root and shoot length and the quantity of fresh and dry weight affected. The phytotoxicity percentage of roots and shoots also increases with increasing concentrations of Cd, whereas the tolerance index level decreases with increasing concentrations of Cd. In root and shoot, the relative growth index was reduced in higher concentration of Cd. The relative water content remains high in the initial stages of leaf development and declines when the leaf matures. From this study, it was found that the increase in the concentration of Cd leads to decrease the germination percentage and morpho-physiological growth parameters as compared to control.

Establishment of a tissue culture protocol for clonal regeneration is an essential prerequisite for the potential and economically important plant species Biancaea sappan (L.) Tod. (syn. Caesalpinia sappan L.; Caesalpiniaceae). This plant is a valuable dye-yielding legume shrub native to Indomalayan and is used in India by the local people of Kerala and Tamil Nadu States for its biological potential. The present study evaluated seed development both in vivo and in vitro through histological analysis. The mature seed was used as explants and cultured on modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2, 4-D, BAP, GA3 and IBA. The cultures showed direct regeneration of shoots from nodular structures in the shoot apical meristem (SAM) region. During in vitro regeneration, the callus cells exhibited ballooning of cells, and the morphogenetic seed developed parenchymatous, polygonal cells filled with polyphenols. Histological studies indicated that in vitro plant regeneration involved the organogenic pathway that leads to de novo shoot primordia development.