SUMMARY
Four wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L. cv. HPW-184, HPW-236, HPW-155, VL-829) have been evaluated concerning plant growth parameters under the influence of varying Cd concentrations (0-20 mg Cd L-1) to identify the potential Cd tolerant cultivar. Early response of test cultivars evaluated in terms of mean germination rate, lengths, and biomass of plants was found to decrease significantly with the increasing Cd concentration (p=0.05). Results of 2-way ANOVA test further showed that Cd concentrations, cultivars, and their interactions affected these parameters significantly except the number of leaves. The tolerance to excess Cd among the four wheat cultivars was found to be in order HPW-236 > HPW-184 > HPW-155 > VL-829. The present study suggests the suitability of T. aestivum cv. HPW-236 for cultivation in a Cd polluted soil under mountain ecosystem. However, the Cd accumulation potential of these cultivars exposed to the Cd contaminated soil seems a future research topic.