Toxicological impacts of mercury on the growth and biochemical profiles of pumpkin (Curcurbita moschata duchesne)

Industrialization and urbanization have led to the accumulation of heavy metals in urban soils, water, roadway dust, sediments and living organisms. Heavy metal contamination in agricultural soils is the most concerning issues throughout the world. So, our aim of the study was to evaluate the toxicological impacts of Mercury on the growth and biochemical profiles of Pumpkin (Curcurbita moschata duchesne). Experimental plants were divided into 4 groups. Group 1 plants in bag not received mercury treatment and served as control, whereas groups 2, 3, and 4 were subjected to mercury treatment of 50, 100, and 200 mg, respectively. Our findings indicated that mercury treated Pumpkin plants exhibits significant reduction in growth parameters such as germination percentage, root length, shoot length, fresh weight, dry weight and vigour index. Biochemical analysis revealed that mercuric stress decreased the levels of carbohydrates, proteins, chlorophyll and carotenoids contents. Additionally, mercury treated plants showed a marked decrease in the enzymic antioxidants levels such as catalase & super oxide dismutase. Overall, our results highlight that mercury exhibits toxic effects in Pumpkin plants can adversely affect their growth and physiological processes, emphasizing the necessity for strategies to alleviate the heavy metal pollution in agricultural systems.