Abstract

Arsenic is a potential contrminant of groundwater as well as soil in many parts of the world. Elevated soil arsenic levels resulting from long term use of arsenic contaminated groundwater for irrigation may inhibit seed germination and seedling establishment of rice, the country's main food crop. An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of arsenical toxicant on germination and early seedling growth of rice (Oryza sativa L.). For this purpose, seeds were treated with 0, 15, 10, 15 and 20 ppm of arsenate and arsenite solution individually. Resluts revealed that root, shoot and seedling length, seedling vigour, dry weight and indices of pigments decreased significantly (P<0.05) with increase in concentration of arsenate and arsenite as compared to control. Arsenite was found to be more toxic than arsenate on germination and early growth of rice seedlings.