Evaluation of chlorophyll fluorescence as a diagnostic tool for identification of iron deficiency in certain horticultural crops

Iron deficiency was studied in Banana, Guava, Stargoose berry, Chillies, Crossandra and Bougainvillea were observed in plants grown under field conditions. Fe content of Fe deficient plants was found to remain below the critical level. Chlorophyll a,b a+b and carotenoid contents were reduced in Fe dificient plants. Fe deficiency affected the Fv/Fm ratios as observed from the fluorescense induction curves, indicating the involvement of Fe in both chlorophyll biosynthesis as well as in components of photophosphorylation. Hence this study reveals the possibility of using chlorophyll fluorescence as diagnostic to identify Fe deficiency in crop plants.