Comparative study of the effect of Na+, K+ and Ca++ metals and Rhizopus species on the growth of Acacia nilotica and Peganum harmala seeds, khewra salt mine, district Jhelum and Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan
2003
Hussain, A. (University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad (Pakistan). Dept. of Botany) | Baig, M.S.
The Khewra salt mine area lies in the District Jhelum, Pakistan. The Precambrian Salt Range Formation is exposed in the foothills of southern Potwar. The Salt Range Formation consists of mainly halite (NaCl), sylvite (KCI) and gypsum (Ca SO4) salts. The alkaline soil is the product of weathering of the Salt Range Formation. The soil on which the plants are growing is rich in Na+, K+ and Ca++ metals. The seeds of Acacia nilotica and Peganum harmala were collected from salt polluted soil out side of the Khewra salt mine and the non-polluted soil from Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. These seeds were grown in different concentrations of Na+, K+ and Ca++ at room temperature (22 plus minus 2 degree centigrade). The study of salt polluted seeds in presence or absence of fungus Rhizopus, shows that the germination rate and biomass increase with increasing concentration levels of Na+ and Ca++ up to 30 mug ml-1 and K+ up to 400 mug ml-1. However, the germination rate and biomass of non-polluted seeds in absence of fungus, decrease with increasing the concentration levels of Na+, K+ and Ca++. In contrast, no single non-polluted seed germinated in the presence of fungus. The present study shows that if seeds from A. nilotica and P. harmala plants are sown and grown in saline soils of Punjab and Indus plains, these will reduce the salinity of soil without fungal infection in such plants.
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