Dr. Mohammad Saquib

Oxides of sulphur, nitrogen and carbon particulates are the major air pollutants by the thermal power plant complex of kasimpur (Aligarh, U.P, India) running on 3192MT of coal/day. The effect of these gaseous pollutants was studied on 110 days old Mustard crops (Brassica juncea,
variety-T59), growing at 0.5, 2, 4, 6, and 20 Km leeward from power plant complex. These
gaseous pollutants induce a significant reduction in the biomass of root and shoot and chlorophyll pigments up to a distance of 4 Km in comparison to the reference site at 20Km leeward from the source of pollution. The significant percent reduction in chlorophyll a (30%), chlorophyll b (27%) and total chlorophyll (28%), causing a serious loss in the root biomass (86%), shoot biomass (83%) and total biomass (83%) of the crops. The loss in chlorophyll contents and biomass showed a significant and positive correlation with the distance from the source of pollution. A significant correlation (r = 0.89) also existed between the total chlorophyll and the total biomass of the crops. The data obtained in the present work indicates that the degree of response in the Brassica juncea increased with the decreasing distance from the source of pollution.

Key words: Thermal power plant, Air pollutants, Chlorophyll, Biomass,
Brassica juncea