Vol. 13(11), pp.

1237-1242, 12 March, 2013

DOI: 10.5897/AJB12.2652
ISSN 1684-5315
Copyright © 2014 African Journal of Biotechnology
Author(s) retain the copyright of this article
http://www.academicjournals.org/AJB

Full Length Research Paper

Effect of road side dust pollution on the growth and

total chlorophyll contents in Vitis vinifera L. (grape)
Saadullah Khan Leghari1*, Mudassir Asrar Zaid1, Atta Muhammed Sarangzai2, Muhammed
Faheem3, Gulam Razaq Shawani4 and Waris Ali1
1
Department of Botany University of Balochistan Quetta, Pakistan.
2
Pakistan council for sciences and technology, Islamabad Pakistan.
3
Department of Botany University of Karachi, Pakistan.
4
Department of Pharmacy University of Balochistan Quetta, Pakistan.
Received 9 April 2012; Accepted 25 February, 2014

The effect of dust in Vitis vinifera L. on its pigmentation and growth was studied in 2012. Measurements
were taken for plants in the Campus University of Balochistan, Quetta. A significant reduction in plant
length, cover, number of leaves and total chlorophyll contents for V. vinifera L. was observed. The
maximum reduction of all investigated variables such as plant length, cover, number of leaves and total
chlorophyll contents on the fourth week of observation conform that long time accumulation of road
side dust put long term savior effects on plant growth and its pigmentations. The results of this study
also reveal that there is negative correlation between the amount of dust accumulation and plant growth
parameters, as the amount of dust increased plant growth decreased, respectively.

Key words: Dust, seedling growth, plant length, cover, number of leaves, and photosynthetic pigments.

INTRODUCTION

It is difficult to estimate the effects of air pollutants can directly affect plants via leaves or indirectly via soil
because the organisms are exposed to wide range of acidification (Steubing et al., 1989). Pollutants when
uncontrolled variables (parasites, weather conditions and absorbed by the leaves cause a reduction in the
complex mixture of pollutants). On the physiological and concentration of photosynthetic pigment viz. chlorophyll
morphological point of view, the plants from polluted sites which directly affects the plant productivity. Plants are the
present important changes especially regarding their only living organisms, which have to suffer a lot from
colors, shapes, leaf length, width, area and petiole length. automobile exhaust pollution because they remain static
However, despite these changes, plants survive well at at their habitat. Properties of both particulate matter and
the polluted environment (Leghari and Zaidi, 2013). Leaf the vegetation are important in deciding their interactions,
is the most sensitive part to be affected by air pollutants. and consequently the effectiveness of particle removal
Therefore, the leaf at its various stages of development, from atmosphere. A number of recent studies observed
serves as a good indicator to air pollutants. Air pollutants that in urban atmospheres the concentrations of PM10

*Corresponding author. E-mail: saadbotany@yahoo.com.

Author(s) agree that this article remain permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
International License
1238 Afr. J. Biotechnol.

and PM 2.5 airborne aerosols show good agreement with mean maximum and minimum temperature of about 11 and -3°C,
traffic-related pollutants and other combustion processes respectively (Anonymous, 1998). This variation in climate is the
main ecological factor, due to which vegetation of southern zone
(Prajapati and Tripathi, 2007); whereas, crustal material, differs from that of North. Due to variation in these factors, there is a
re-suspended road dust and long-range transport events variation in the penology of the vegetation from season to season.
are mainly identified as sources of the coarse particles The experiment was conducted in green house under the uniform
(Park and Kim, 2005; Vallius et al., 2005). Vehicular natural environmental conditions at the Campus University of
emissions and agricultural activities generate local dust Balochistan, Quetta during March and April, 2012 in pots. Healthy
concentrations close to the source which exceed and uniform size seeds of V. vinifera L. were collected from the
University Campus. The seeds were sown in garden soil at 1 cm
environmental guideline values (Leys et al., 1998; Manins depth in large pots and watered regularly. After two weeks of their
et al., 2001). Heavy metals released from automobiles germination, uniform sized seedlings were transplanted in pots of
are extremely toxic metal and reduces plant growth and 25 cm in diameter and 22 cm in depth containing the same garden
morphological parameters. Therefore, the study soil in which they were germinated (Kabir et al., 2009). Road side
conducted by Ahmad et al. (2012) is in agreement with dust was applied with ratio 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 g, respectively on the
this study stating that the cadmium had toxicity at 5 mgL-1 aerial parts of each plant twice a week, except the control (0). The
height of plant and cover were measured with a measuring tape.
in case of root and shoot growth. Air pollution due to The numbers of leaves were also counted every week. The total
vehicular emission mostly arises from cars, buses, experiments lasted six weeks (Mishra and Pandey, 2011).
minibuses, wagons, rickshaws, motorcycles and trucks.
These resources introduce varieties of pollutants (oxides
of nitrogen and sulphur, hydrocarbon, ozone, particulate Photosynthetic pigments analysis
matters, hydrogen fluoride, peroxyacyl nitrates, etc.) into Three grams of fresh leaves were put in 100% acetone (50 ml for
the environment which not only put adverse effect on the each gram), homogenized (homogenizer B. Braun Melsungen,
health of human beings, and animals, but seriously Germany) at 1000 rpm for 1 min. The homogenate was then filtered
threating the trees and crops of such areas. Research through double layered cheese cloths and centrifuged at 2500 rpm
studies revealed that plants growing in the urban areas for 10 min. The extract was removed to a 10 ml graduated cylinder
are affected greatly by these pollutants (Uaboi-Egbenni et using a Pasteur pipette. An aliquot of the clear leaf extract
(supernatant) was transferred with a pipette to a 1 cm path length
al., 2009). cuvette and absorbance readings taken against a solvent blank in a
Now it is necessary to identify some principles that may ultra violet- visible (UV-VIS) spectrophotometer at 663, 645, 470,
indicate these impacts, and the need for mitigation 435 and 415 nm wavelength to determine the concentrations of
measures (Prajapati and Tripathi, 2008a, d). Air pollution photosynthetic pigments like chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b and total
in Quetta city (study area) is rising to an alarming state chlorophyll content (TCh) using the formula given by Lichtenthaler
rapidly since the last few decades due to heavy (1987). The ratio of absorbance 663 to 645 nm are the parameter
for maximum chlorophyll (a and b) absorbance in the experiment
automobile activities. Rapid increase in automobile (Ronen and Galun, 1984).
activities and traffic congestion contributes most of air
pollution problems, resulting in damage to the plants
growth. Therefore, the present work was mainly designed Quantification of pigments (For 100% acetone)
to analyze the effects of air born-dust pollution, dom-
Chl-a =12.7DX663 - 2.69DX645 x V/1000W (μg g-1 f.wt.)
nantly presented by automobile, industrial pollution and Chl-b =22.9DX645 - 4.68DX663 x V/1000W (μg g-1 f.wt.)
microclimate on physiology and morphology of Vitis TCh = Chlorophyll a + b (μg g-1f.wt.)
vinifera L. (grape), because grape is one of the most
widely grown fruit crops in the investigated area (Quetta Where, DX = Absorbance of the extract at the wavelength x nm, V
city). They have a wide distribution, which indicates a = total volume of the chlorophyll solution (ml), and W = weight of
high economically, ecologically plasticity in study area. the tissue extract (g).
Our goal in the present study was to evaluate the
relationships between airborne dust deposition, Statistical analysis
physiological and growth parameters of V. vinifera L.
(grape). The standard deviation values of the means were calculated for
comparison of site categories. To determine the significance of the
samples, paired t-test was performed (Steel and Torrie, 1980).
MATERIALS AND METHODS

Description of study area RESULTS

Quetta is the provincial capital of Balochistan province. It is situated Effect of road side dust application on V. vinifera L.
at an elevation of 1676 to 1900 m above sea level. The climate of length, number of leaves, plant cover, total chlorophyll
the area is generally dry and cold. Maximum rainfall and snowfall
occurs in January and February. Summer season is moderate,
contents, over all comparison between plant variables
while June and July is the hottest month with maximum temperature and correlation between amount of dust applied and plant
of 30 and 20°C, respectively. January is the coldest month with growth are shown in Tables 1 to 5 and Figure 1. In
 Leghari et al. 1239

Table 1. Effect of road side dust (gm) application on plant length during some weeks of growth.

Plant length (cm)

Dust applied (gm) Weeks after dust application
1 2 3 4
Control 10.58 12.63 13.55 15.12
1 6.82 7.42 7.85 8.50
2 6.50 7.05 7.4 8.12
3 5.62 6.00 6.75 7.52
4 4.65 5.11 6.00 6.50
5 4.60 5.05 5.87 6.36
Average 5.6 (1.0) 6.1 (1.1) 6.8 (0.9) 7.2 (3.3)
Decrease percentage in Plant length with respect
87.6 106.1 106.1 109.4
to the control
Confidence level (T-test) ** *** *** ***
Values in parenthesis indicates standard deviation, **highly significant p< 0.01, *** very highly significant p < 0.001.

Table 2. Effect of road side dust application on number of leaves.

Number of leaves
Dust applied Weeks after dust application
1 2 3 4
Control 11.5 13.4 22.4 31.6
1 9 11 14 18
2 9 10 12 16
3 7 8 10 13
4 6 7 9 11
5 6 7 8 10
Average 7.4 (1.5) 8.6 (1.8) 10.6 (2.4) 13.6 (3.4)
Decrease percentage in No of plant 55.4 55.8 111.3 132.4
leaves with respect to the control
Confidence level (T-test) * * *** ***
Values in parenthesis indicates standard deviation, *slightly significant p < 0.05, **highly significant p< 0.01, *** very highly
significant p < 0.001.

general, V. vinifera L. showed a significant decrease in its lysis using T-test revealed that there was slightly to high
growth, number of leaves, plant cover and total variation in plant length between control and dust
chlorophyll content due to road side dust treatment. treatment (Table 1).
Results also indicate that there was negative correlation The numbers of leaves were significantly decreased in
between the application of dust concentration and growth V. vinifera L. together with increasing dust accumulation
rate during all the four weeks of investigation. As the in plant. The maximum and minimum average number of
concentration of dust application increased all the leaves (13.6 and 7.4) was noticed during 4th weeks and
investigated parameters decreased, respectively. The 1st week of dust application, respectively, on the other
study also reveales that reduction in plant length, plant hand the plant with control site had 11.5 to 31.6 numbers
cover, number of leaves and total chlorophyll contents of leaves. Decrease percentage in plant leaves due to
varies from week to week and variation was also noted dust applied with respect to the control ranging from 55.4
due to different concentration (1 to 5 g) of dust applied. to 132.4% and statistical analysis using T-test indicated
The maximum and minimum average plant length (7.2 that there was slightly to high significant variation in
and 5.6 cm) was noticed during 4th weeks and 1st week number of leaves between control and dust treatment
of dust application, respectively. Decrease percentage in plants (Table 2). Table 3 shows that the average plant
plant length due to dust applied with respect to the covers at dust application site were in the range of 93.7
control ranging from 87.6 to 109.4% and statistical ana- to 134.0 cm2, while plant at control site was 173.9 to
1240 Afr. J. Biotechnol.

Table 3. Effect of road side dust application on plant cover (cm2).

Plant cover
Dust applied Weeks after dust application
1 2 3 4
Control 173.9 203.4 230.4 280.6
1 116.0 133.2 156.2 170.3
2 100.2 119.2 121.1 153.2
3 92.3 105.4 115.2 121.1
4 80.1 93.1 100.2 113.0
5 80.1 93.0 100.1 112.2
Average 93.7 (15.1) 108.8 (17.4) 118.6 (23.0) 134.0 (26.3)
Decrease percentage in plant cover with respect to the control 85.6 87.0 94.3 109.5
Confidence level (T-test) ** ** ** ***
Values in parenthesis indicates standard deviation, **highly significant p< 0.01, *** very highly significant p < 0.001.

Table 4. Effect of road side dust application on total chlorophyll contents.

-1
Total chlorophyllcontents (μg g f.wt.)
Dust applied (gm) Weeks after dust application
1 2 3 4
Control 58.1 61.3 66.2 68.3
1 51.4 54.3 55.3 57.2
2 45.2 48.0 51.2 53.2
3 44.4 45.3 48.6 50.4
4 40.2 42.4 44.2 45.5
5 35.1 38.3 40.2 40.6
Average 43.3 (6.1) 45.6 (6.0) 47.9 (5.9) 49.4 (6.5)
Decrease percentage in total chlorophyll contents
34.4 36.8 38.2 38.4
with respect to the control
Significance level (T-test) n.s n.s n.s n.s
Values in parenthesis indicates standard deviation, n.s: not-slightly significant p < 0.05.

Table 5. Correlation b/t dust applied and plant growth.

Correlation
Plant variable Weeks after dust applied
1 2 3 4
Plant length (cm) -0.94 -0.96 -0.98 -0.99
Number of leaves -0.96 -0.95 -0.94 -0.90
Plant Cover (cm2) -0.96 -0.95 -0.94 -0.90
Total chlorophyll contents (μg g-1 f.wt.) -0.98 -0.99 -0.99 -0.99

280.6 cm2 which showed slightly to high significance. The control and dust treatment plants but there was variation
decrease percentage in plant cover was noted to be 85.6 within the dust treatment plants (Table 4). The plant
to 109.5%. Dust accumulation altered the chlorophyll and growth (all the investigated variables) gradually
carotenoid contents in V. vinifera L. Greater decrease in decreased with the increased dust concentration. There
total chlorophyll contents was clearly observed at 38.2 was negative correlation between dust accumulation and
and 38.4% in 3rd and 4th weeks of dust application, plant growth as shown in Table 5. The minimum growth
respectively. Statistical analysis using T-test showed non- was noticed in the plants treated with 4 to 5 g dust
significant variation in total chlorophyll contents between without significant change between plants treated with 4
 Leghari et al. 1241

Figure 1. Over all comparison b/t different plant parameters of plants with non applied dust and plants with applied
dust.

to 5 g during all the weeks. On the other hand, except leaves of V. vinifera L. might be due to long time
total chlorophyll contents all the other investigated accumulation of dust on plant leaves that interrupt the
parameters showed significant over all difference sun light to reach the leaf. Prajapati and Tripathi (2008)
between polluted and control site plants as indicated in observed reduction of pigment content in plant species
Figure 1. due to dust accumulation. Similar results were also
reported by Prasad and Inamdar (1990), they found that
the dust kiln showed a reduction in chlorophyll content,
DISCUSSION protein, starch, yield and phytomass in ground nuts
(Arachis hypogaea L.). A significant reduction in
Road side dust had a significant effect on the growth of chlorophyll content, photosynthesis and growth in cotton
V. vinifera L. compared with non-dusted plant (V. vinifera due to particulates (dust) was also reported by Armbrust
L.). Reduction in plant height, cover, number of leaves (1986). A significant reduction in leaf number for V.
and total chlorophyll contents of V. vinifera L. showed vinifera L. agrees with the findings of Laghari and Zaidi
that the losses are generally attributed to the road side (2013); Anda (1986). Studies of biochemical changes and
dust which contained mixture of toxic metals. The results pollution effects on the plant metabolism, that is,
obtained are in close conformity with those reported by reduction in chlorophyll and completely closed stomates
Prajapati (2012) and Stratmann (1966), who dusted (Ahmed and Qadir, 1975) revealed that these parameters
plants with dust ranging from 1 to 48 g/m2 day-1 and are important in regulating the productivity and also the
concluded that dust falling on the soil caused a shift in pH number of flowers and seeds produced.
to the alkaline side, which was unfavorable to oats but
favorable to pasture grass.
Reduction of plant length might be due to the decrease Conclusion
in phytomass, net primary production and chlorophyll
content in response to the road side dusts, similar to On the basis of this study, it could be concluded that the
observation also noted by Prasad and Inamdar (1990) in phenological behavior of V. vinifera L. was found to be
Vignamungo (Black gram) and Armbrust (1986). A highly affected. It is clear that the road side dust pollution
significant reduction in plant cover of V. vinifera L. is an operative ecological factor causing deterioration in
suggests that it is more sensitive to road side dust. The the quality of our environment and economic crops. It is
observation noted by Shafiq and Iqbal (1987) is in suggested that the highly dust tolerant local plant species
agreement with these results; they found a reduction in (Pinus halepensis (Miller.) and Eucalyptus tereticornis L.)
the number of species around the heavily polluted should be planted around the road side. It is also
cement industrial units in Karachi. Darley et al. (1966) suggested that complete analysis of road side dust
demonstrated that dust deposited on bean leaves in the containing toxic pollutants should be carried out in detail.
presence of free moisture interfered with the rate of The experimental analysis of the effect of dust on
carbon dioxide exchange, but no measurements of starch vegetation helps to recommend plants for use as screens
were made. The decreased in chlorophyll contents in the or green belts in urban areas in order to mitigate dust and
1242 Afr. J. Biotechnol.

improve air quality (Yunus et al., 1985). Prajapati SK, Tripathi BD (2007). Bio-monitoring trace-element levels in
PM10 released from vehicles using leaves of Saracaindica and
Lantana camara. AMBIO. 36(8):704-705.
Prajapati SK, Tripathi BD (2008b). Bio-monitoring seasonal variation of
Conflict of interests urban air Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) using Ficus
benghalensis leaves. Environ. Pollut. 151:543-548.
Prajapati SK, Tripathi BD. (2008a). Anticipated performance index of
The author(s) have not declared any conflict of interests. some tree species considered for green belt development in and
around an urban area: a case study of Varanasi City, India. J.
Environ. Manage. 88(4):1343-1349.
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