RESPONSE OF BIOCHEMICAL ACTIVITY OF SUNFLOWER TO SULPHUR DIOXIDE POLLUTION

Abstract

Earth’s environment is favourable for the evolution and survival of various forms of life. But the ever-growing population coupled with a strong desire of man to raise the standards of living has subsequently led to environmental degradation through various forms and one such form is air pollution which is responsible for climate change and the consistent changes in climate lead to natural disasters. The injury caused by air pollutants is often evident on plants before it can affect humans or animals, thus the effect of air pollution leading to climate change is widely studied through plants. Present study deals with the long term effects of sulphur dioxide, one of the most common, widespread, phytotoxic, man-made primary pollutant on the ornamental cultivar of sunflower i.e., Helianthus annuus L.cv. Single Miniature (family Asteraceae) on fumigation with four cumulative doses 2612, 3265, 3918 and 4571µg m-3 of SO2 at different plant age along with a control set. By observing change in biochemical parameters (photosynthetic pigments chlorophyll a, b, carotenoids and leaf extract pH), it has been possible to correlate the concentration of pollutant and the injury it causes to the plant.