EFFECT OF HEAVY METALS ON MORPHOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF POPLAR HYBRID (Populus ciliata x Populus maximowiczii)
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Date
2018-04
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UHF,NAUNI
Abstract
ABSTRACT
The present investigations entitled “Effect of heavy metals on morphological and biochemical characteristics
of of Poplar hybrid (Populus ciliata x Populus maximowiczii)” were carried out at the Research Farm of Department of
Environmental Science of College of Forestry, Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni,
Solan, Himachal Pradesh during 2016-2017. In order to study the effect of heavy metals viz. As and Pb on
morphological and biochemical parameters and their uptake in Poplar hybrid seedlings, pot experiment was conducted on
one-year-old cuttings. Experiment was laid out with 16 treatments consisting of various combinations of different levels of
As and Pb at 0, 5, 10 and 20 ppm. The treatments were replicated four times in Completely Randomized Design. The
observations on morphological, biochemical parameters, buildup of As and Pb in soil and their uptake in Poplar hybrid
seedlings were recorded. Arsenic (As) had significant influence on all the morphological parameters, whereas, lead (Pb)
significantly influenced seedling height, stem diameter, root dry weight and total dry biomass and had no significant impact
on number of leaves, collar diameter and leaf area of Poplar hybrid. Highest level of As and Pb (20 ppm) had lowest leaf
area of 652.18 and 703.43 cm2 and lowest number of leaves i.e. 22.50 and 23.75, respectively. Seedling height reduced in the
order of 20 ppm> 10 ppm> 5 ppm of As and Pb levels. The effect of As and Pb in reducing stem diameter followed the order
20 ppm (14%)> 10 ppm (7%)> 5 ppm (2%) and 20 ppm (5.2%)> 10 ppm (4%)> 5 ppm (0.6%), respectively. There was an
increase in total dry biomass and root dry weight uptill 10 ppm As dose but at higher levels of 20 ppm these parameters
decreased slightly. Biochemical parameters like chlorophyll content and total soluble sugar in leaves decreased with
increasing level of As and Pb. Leaf phenol content was in the range of 1.01-4.27 mg g-1 under As and 2.41-2.47 mg g-1 under
Pb and increased with increasing level of As and Pb. Soil parameters viz,. pH, EC were not influenced significantly whereas,
the soil microbial activity under the different doses of As and Pb was in the range of 64.87 to 77.15 mg kg-1 under As and
70.12 mg kg-1 to 73.81 mg kg-1 for Pb and followed a decreasing trend with increasing levels. The soil buildup of As and Pb
in soils varied from 4.07 to 22.65 mg kg-1 (As) and 7.49 to 51.75 mg kg-1 (Pb), respectively. Increase in As and Pb uptake
was observed with increase in heavy metal concentrations with values ranging between 0.02-0.54 and 0.07-0.56 mg/plant for
As and Pb, respectively. The species was capable of tolerating the applied concentrations of As and Pb and could be a good
candidate for planting in the heavy metal contaminated soils. The present investigations widens the scope for studying the
effect of higher concentration of heavy metals beyond 20 ppm in future to confirm the phytoremediation ability of this
Poplar hybrid species.
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