NPK could alleviate the adverse effects of simulated acid rain in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) |
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| Authors: | Noreen Khalid Ali Noman Muhammad Aqeel Naila Hadayat Sumreen Anjum |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Botany, Government College Women University, Sialkot, Pakistan;2. Department of Botany, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan;3. State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China;4. Department of Botany, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan |
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| Abstract: | A study was conducted to determine the effect of macronutrients (NPK) in alleviating the adverse effects of simulated acid rain (SAR) on sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). In addition to control (T0), three different treatments, i.e., SAR (HNO3) of pH 3 (T1), NPK (T2), and SAR + NPK (T3), were applied on two sunflower cultivars, i.e., FH-37 and FH-385. The experiment was set up in CRD (completely randomized design) with four replicates of each treatment. Chlorophyll a, b, total chlorophyll, carotenoids, ion contents (NPK), and gas exchange characters were determined. Acid rain remarkably reduced the chlorophyll pigments, NPK ionic content, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance, while an increase in internal CO2 concentration and water use efficiency was noted in both the cultivars. The mixture of NPK with SAR exhibited positive impact to lessen the toxicity caused by acid. Among cultivars, FH-385 showed better performance as compared to FH-37. |
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| Keywords: | acid rain plant physiology sunflower |
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