Application of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) could have promotive effects on crop plants; however, their effects on seed germination and early growth of maize under cadmium (Cd) stress have rarely been investigated. A pot experiment was conducted with two maize varieties, Yuebaitiannuo7 and Yuecainuo2, grown under three Cd levels, i.e., 0, 100, and 200 mg L⁻¹ (denoted as Cd0, Cd100, and Cd200, respectively) and three MWCNT levels, i.e., 0, 100, and 200 mg L⁻¹ (denoted as M0, M100, and M200, respectively) as seed priming treatments to assess the MWCNT-induced modulations in seed germination rate, seedling growth, and related physio-biochemical attributes under Cd stress. Yuebaitiannuo7 showed higher seed germination rate and less root and shoot growth than Yuecainuo2. The MWCNT application promoted the seed germination rate of Yuecainuo2 by 11.42% at M100 and 24.76% at M200 under Cd100 at 4 days after sowing; however, these effects remained non-significant for Yuebaitiannuo7. Moreover, the MWCNTs enhanced root and shoot fresh weight and antioxidant enzyme activities, including peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) activities, and reduced the malonaldehyde (MDA) content under Cd across MWCNT treatments. Nevertheless, the toxic effects were also observed, indicating a potential risk posed by MWCNTs at high concentrations. Application of MWCNTs alleviated the Cd toxicity in growing maize plants; however, their effects were concentration dependent. Yuecainuo2 performed better than Yuebaitiannuo7 with the application of MWCNT under Cd stress.

多壁碳纳米管（MWCNTs）的应用可能对作物产生促进作用。然而，很少研究它们对镉（Cd）胁迫下玉米种子萌发和早期生长的影响。对两个玉米品种（分别在0、100和200 mg L ^-1（分别表示为Cd0，Cd100和Cd200）的三个Cd水平和三个MWCNT水平下生长的盆栽试验）进行了试验。，0、100和200 mg L ^-1（分别表示为M0，M100和M200）作为种子引发处理，以评估MWCNT诱导的Cd胁迫下种子发芽率，幼苗生长和相关生理生化特性的调节。越白田诺7种子的发芽率高于越菜诺2。MWCNT的施用在播种4天后，在Cd100下，M100使月才糯2的种子发芽率提高了11.42％，M200使M200使种子发芽率提高了24.76％。但是，这些影响对于月白天诺7仍然不重要。此外，MWCNTs增加了根和茎的鲜重和抗氧化酶活性，包括过氧化物酶（POD），超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）和过氧化氢酶（CAT）活性，并降低了MWCNT处理下Cd下丙二醛（MDA）的含量。尽管如此，也观察到了毒性作用，表明高浓度的MWCNT构成了潜在的风险。MWCNTs的使用减轻了生长中的玉米植物中Cd的毒性；但是，它们的作用与浓度有关。在镉胁迫下，MWCNT的施加使粤菜糯2的表现优于粤菜天糯7。