Perchlorate Uptake and its Effect on Physiological, Biochemical and Growth Parameters of Eucalyptusplant under Ammonium Perchlorate Stress

Perchlorate is a significant environmental pollutant affecting public health. When entered in ecosystem it is highly toxic. Present investigation focused on the influence of perchlorate on physiological and biochemical parameters of Eucalyptus citriodora and also its accumulation in plant tissue and depletion from soil. Eucalyptus plants were treated with varying concentration of ammonium perchlorate from 1000ppm, 2000ppm, 5000ppm and 10000 ppm. Perchlorate inside the plant tissue and in soil was quantified at regular intervals. Amount of perchlorate inside plant tissue observed to increase with number of days after treatment and is proportional to concentration of perchlorate in soil. Morphological characters like shoot length, root length, number of leaf were observed to decrease with increasing concentration of perchlorate. The present study revealed decrease in chlorophyll and reducing sugar content in leaf tissue under varying concentration of perchlorate and is indirectly proportional to amount of perchlorate. While total protein, proline, and phenol content showed a gradual increase with increase in concentration of perchlorate and in different experimental set up, suggesting increase in non-enzymatic stress parameters with increased level of toxicity. An increased activity of peroxidase enzyme was observed with increased dose of ammonium perchlorate. It can be concluded that perchlorate related influence on plant are both qualitative and quantitative and depends upon its concentration and duration of exposure.

Perchlorate in the soil is a potential abiotic stress to Eucalyptus plants affecting its physiological and biochemical parameters.

Presence of perchlorate inside the Eucalyptus plant tissue enhances the activity of stress related enzyme and amount of protein, phenol and proline.