Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

EFFECT OF ALUMINIUM AND COPPER ON GROWTH AND BIOCHEMICAL CHANGES ',IN SEEDLINGS OF ADENANTHERA PAVONINA L., A FAST GROWING MULTIPURPOSE TREE SPECIES

P.N. Krishnan and K. Vijayakumar

Abstract

Effect of heavy metals aluminium and copper on growth and biochemical changes were analysed in early seedling stages of Adenanthera pavonina L., a fast growing multipurpose tree species. Results showed promotion in shoot and root growth at low concentrations, upto 1.0 mM with aluminium and 0.1 mM with copper and toxicity in growth was observed at high concentrations. Increasing concentration of aluminium and copper indicated an inhibitory effect on resource mobilization from cotyledons. Changes in chlorophyll, starch, sugar and protein content together with enzyme activities of amylase, protease and peroxidase indicate that phytotoxic mechanisms of different heavy metals involve in different biochemical pathways resulted in the reduction of growth at higher concentrations.