Sulfur dioxide resistance of Indian trees

Saplings of Tamarindus indica, Mangifera indica, Pithecolobium dulce, Ficus rumphii, Ficus bengalensis, Holoptelea integrifolia, Syzygium cumind, and Psidium guajava were exposed to varying concentrations of SO₂ and chlorophyll, protein, amino acids, starch, total soluble sugars and reducing sugars were determined. In general, it was observed that on exposure to SO₂ in susceptible plants most of the biochemical constituents accumulated in higher amounts while in plants showing visible damage at extremely high exposure concentration a reverse pattern was obtained.