Industrial dust sulphate and its effects on biochemical and morphological characteristics of Morus (Morus alba) plant in NCR Delhi.

Abundance of CaCO3 rich soil dust is a typical feature of atmospheric environment in the Indian region. During prevailing dry weather conditions, dustfall is deposited onto the foliar surfaces of plant affecting their morphology, stomata and the levels of biochemical constituents. This study reports the chemical characteristics of dustfall, its effect on foliar morphology and biochemical constituents of a medicinal plant (Morus alba) at two sites which are differentiated on the basis of landuse pattern, viz., (i) residential, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and (ii) industrial, Sahibabad (SB), located in the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi. Dustfall was characterized for major anions (F(-), Cl(-), NO3 (-) and SO4 (--)) and cations (Na(+), NH4 (+), K(+), Mg(++) and Ca(++)). Biochemical parameters such as chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, carotenoid, proline and ascorbic acid were determined in foliar samples. The results showed that the dustfall fluxes of all the major ions were found to be higher at the industrial site (SB) as compared to the residential site (JNU). Foliar analysis revealed that the levels of biochemical parameters were more affected at SB site due to higher levels of dust SO4 (--) contributed by various anthropogenic sources resulting in more stressful conditions affecting the biochemistry of the plant. The possible entry pathways for dust SO4 (--) into foliar cells are also discussed in the paper. It was noticed that the deposition of urban dust was responsible for the damage of trichome, epidermis, cuticle and stomatal guard cells significantly affecting foliar morphology. SB exhibited more damage to these morphological parts suggesting that industrial dust is harmful to the plants.