Abstract

Influence of fertiliser industry effluent on growth and biochemical composition of Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar periwinkle)

Author(s): Tanushree Bhattacharya, Sukalyan Chakraborty, Neha Sharma

The present study is an investigation into the effect of fertilizer industry effluent on plant growth and biochemical constituents of Catharanthus roseus (Madagaskar periwinkle), studied in a pot culture experiment. The degree of damage caused by the effluents on physiological and biochemical properties of plants was investigated. In the pot culture experiment, plants were grown up to 25 days, in the soil irrigated with different concentrations of fertilizer industry effluent (viz, 0, 30%, 60%, and 90%v/v). Each pot contained 3kg of air dried soil. All pots were irrigated (500 ml) with respective concentration of effluents daily. The higher fertilizer industrial effluent concentrations (above 30%) were found to affect plant growth negatively, decreased chlorophyll and protein contents, and increased polyphenol contents in the plants, but diluted effluent (up to 30%) favoured the plant growth and biochemical contents. This suggests that effluent threatens their normal metabolisms after some optimum concentration. Otherwise low concentration of the effluents can be effectively used for irrigation of this plant.