Objective  A pot experiment was conducted to study Cd accumulation and translocation capacities of 11 maize (Zea Mays) varieties and to screen these varieties, so as to provide a theoretical basis for discovering maize varieties with high Cd accumulation.

Method  Eleven maize varieties were cultured in soil with 2.5 mg·kg⁻¹ Cd for 50 d. The dry biomass and Cd content were measured. We used variance analysis and principal component analysis to study the differences in dry biomass, Cd accumulation and translocation capacities of 11 maize varieties.

Result  There were significant differences in the dry biomass of root and shoot, Cd content, Cd accumulation coefficient and translocation coefficient among 11 maize varieties (P<0.05). The Cd contents of Huacainuo 3 and Guanghongnuo 8 shoots were 26.66 and 20.25 mg·kg⁻¹ respectively, accumulation coefficients were 10.66 and 8.10 respectively, and translocation coefficients were 1.46 and 2.16 respectively, which were significantly higher than those of other varieties (P<0.05). Principal component analysis showed that the Cd accumulation and translocation capacities of Huacainuo 3 and Guanghongnuo 8 were stronger compared with other varieties (P<0.01).

Conclusion  Huacainuo 3 and Guanghongnuo 8 have relatively high capacity in Cd accumulation and translocation, and belong to the varieties with high Cd accumulation. They have great potential to remediate to Cd contaminated soil.