Effect of Elevated Level CO2, UVB and Their Combined Effect on Date Palm.

Effect of elevated level CO₂, UVB and their combined effect on date palm

Mohammed A. Salem*, Wasef Ayed Al-Zayadneh, A. Senthilkumar

Department of Aridland Agriculture, Faculty of Food and Agriculture, PO Box No. 15551, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, UAE

 Abstract

Under natural conditions, plants are exposed to multiple environmental factors simultaneously and their interaction often poses greater risks to growth than a single factor. The present investigation was aimed to evaluate the effect of elevated level CO₂, UVB and their combined effect on a date palm variety. The experiment was conducted in an Open Top Chambers facility and the treatments were given for 120 days. After the treatment the content of chlorophyll a, b and total, carotenoids, protein, amino acids, phenol, and enzyme assays and activities including γ-glutamyl kinase, proline oxidase, a-tocopherol activity, peroxidase activity and peroxidases were determined. The results showed that the elevated level CO₂concentration alone accelerated the growth parameters whereas the UVB treatment was significantly affect the plant growth when compared to control. Observations on enzymes showed that an increase in antioxidant enzymes may affect a defense response to the cellular damage induced by abiotic stresses. Since the date palm is considered as an important subsistence crop in most of the world’s desert areas, the study on the effect of day-to-day increasing stress factors on the much important plant. Further extension of this study with other cultivated varieties, other stress parameters and determination of yield parameters will provide scope for the identification of new stress tolerant cultivars of date palm trees.