chlorophyll

Epsom salts was inadvertently discovered in Epson spring in England and used as magnesium salt in 1697. It is simply the magnesium sulphate, a commonly used ingredient in beauty and wellness kiosks for soothing joints, muscles and mind. Richard Martin Willstatter working on plant pigments begged a Nobel Prize in 1915 for his discovery of chlorophyll containing magnesium. The magnesium holds the centre position in chlorophyll in a manner as iron in hemoglobin.

A study was undertaken during August 2017 to evaluate the effect of salinity on chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoid and proline contents of hydroponically grown seedlings of Bruguiera gymnorhizza. The primary aim was to observe its tolerance to changing salinity. The selected seedlings were exposed to five different salinity levels (2,5,10,15 and 20psu) for a period of 30 days and observations were done at a regular interval of 7,14,21 and 30 days respectively. The concentrations of chlorophyll exhibited significant positive correlations with salinity (p<0.01). The chlorophyll a:b ratio in the plant varied between 2.39 to 3.71 throughout the period of investigation. The salinity fluctuation did not affect the carotenoid level and proline content in the leaves of the species as evidenced from the insignificant r values. The results show that Bruguiera gymnorhizza of Indian Sundarbans region can tolerate and adapt to high saline condition as witnessed in the central sector of the deltaic complex around the Matla River.

Natural dyes have become a viable alternative to expensive and rare organic sensitizers because of their low cost, easy attainability, abundance of supply of raw materials and environmental friendliness. Chlorophyll, the most abundant pigment, can be extracted from plant leaves with simple and inexpensive methods, but it’s difficult to use as a Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC) sensitizer due to the absence of OH and COOH groups. The opposite is true for xanthophylls, a particular class of carotenoids that contain free hydroxyl groups and thus may be considered as potential DSSC sensitizers. In this work we describe a new and inexpensive method of chlorophyll extraction from leaves based on the use of a basic solvent that provides the creation of COOH groups, allowing chlorophyll binding on the TiO2 layer. This modified chlorophyll dye showed a higher DSSC efficiency level (0.72%) compared to xanthophylls, which had lower efficiency.

Okra is an herbaceous hairy annual plant that belongs to the family Malvaceae. It is cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions around the world. The present work was carried out to study the effect of biofertilizers (Azotobacter + Bacillus) and different concentrations of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium i.e.NPK on growth and photosynthetic pigments of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench). Okra can be named a multipurpose crop as its various parts such as leaves, buds, flowers, pods, stems and seeds can be used for different purposes [1]. Okra is rich in dietary fiber, vitamins, oils, etc. Application of hazardous fertilizers causes a nutrient imbalance in soil, With respect to reducing the causes due to chemical fertilizers, biofertilizers are suited best to maintain higher productivity and yield of crops. Random block design (RBD) was selected as an experimental design. The treatments combination taken are T0- Control, T1- Azotobacter + 50% NPK, T2- Azotobacter (2.5 kg/ha) + 100% NPK, T3- Bacillus (2.5 kg/ha) + 50% NPK, T4- Bacillus (2.5 kg/ha) + 100% NPK, and T5 with NPK 100%. The final result revealed, that the treatment combination with Azotobacter + 100% NPK (T2) showed the highest value of plant height (65.60 cm), number of leaves per plant(62.36), number of flowers per plant (27.40), and also carotenoid content (2.82 mg/g), chlorophyll a(2.47 mg/g) and chlorophyll b(3.25 mg/g) were observed maximum. So, it can be concluded through this paper that the combination of Azotobacter 2.5 kg/ha + 100% NPK (T2) is suitable for the okra plant for better growth and enhancement of photosynthetic potential in-field practices.

Background: Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is one of the most important grain legume crops in Egypt and many other countries of the world because the seeds offer a low-cost source of protein, lysine, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. Chocolate spot disease is a stress-related fungal disease produced by Botrytis fabae that causes plant damage, limits photosynthetic activity, and reduces yield. Results: Trichoderma atroviride greatly reduced mycelial growth by 90.00% in vitro, followed by T. harzianum (86.67%) and T. album (83.89%) on average. In vivo, all studied antagonists dramatically reduced Botrytis fabae disease incidence and severity in both seasons 2021/22 and 2022/23. T. atroviride showed the highest efficacy bioagent (73.55 and 85.15%), followed by T. harzianum (72.55 and 81.22%), in controlling B. fabae of faba bean plants in both seasons. In addition, the results also showed that all tested biological treatments had an impact on yield components and increased levels of chlorophyll, protein%, phenols, flavonoids, Peroxidase (PO), polyphenol Oxidase (PPO), chitinase, and -1, 3-glucanase activities compared to control treatment in both seasons. In this regard, spraying T. atroviride showed the highest efficacy as a bioagent, followed by T. harzianum. Contrary, T. hamatum showed the lowest efficacy compared to other treatments in both seasons. Conclusion: This investigation was carried out to determine the effectiveness of several different antagonists, i.e., T. album, T. atrovirde, T. hamatum, and T. harzianum (30 x 106 spore/ml), Blight Stop, and Bio Zeid, for controlling Botrytis fabae on bean plants and evaluating their effect on yield parameters, components, and quality.

New synthetic compounds - thioxopyrimidine derivatives as regulators of vegetative growth and photosynthesis of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) variety Acordine were studied. The growth-regulatory effect of new synthetic compounds, thioxopyrimidine derivatives, used in a concentration of 10-6M, was compared with the growth-regulatory effect of a plant hormone auxin IAA (1H-indol-3-yl)acetic acid) or synthetic plant growth regulators, derivatives of sodium and potassium salts of 6-methyl-2-mercapto-4-hydroxypyrimidine (Methyur, Kamethur), N-oxide-2,6-dimethylpyridine (Ivin), used in a similar concentration of 10-6M. The conducted study showed the similarity of the growth-regulatory effects of synthetic compounds, thioxopyrimidine derivatives, the plant hormone auxin IAA, and synthetic plant growth regulators Methyur, Kamethur, and Ivin. Morphometric parameters (average length of shoots (mm), average length of roots (mm), and average biomass of 10 plants (g)) and biochemical parameters (content of photosynthetic pigments chlorophylls a, b, a+b and carotenoids (µg/ml)) of barley plants treated with the plant hormone auxin IAA or synthetic plant growth regulators Methyur, Kamethur, Ivin or thioxopyrimidine derivatives were increased after 4 weeks compared to control plants. The dependence of the growth-regulatory effect of synthetic compounds, thioxopyrimidine derivatives on their chemical structure was analyzed. The use of the synthetic plant growth regulators, derivatives of sodium salt of 6-methyl-2-mercapto-4-hydroxypyrimidine (Methyur), potassium salt of 6-methyl-2-mercapto-4-hydroxypyrimidine (Kamethur), N-oxide-2,6-dimethylpyridine (Ivin) and selected most active synthetic compounds, thioxopyrimidine derivatives for regulating the growth and photosynthesis of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) variety Acordine is proposed.

In the world, millions of hectares of cultivated land are affected by salt, making salinity a major constraint for plant production. The effects of different levels of banana peel on growth, yield, and chemical changes of jute (Corchorus olitorius L.) under salt stress were examined herein. Response of jute to applications of different levels of banana peel (5, 10, and 15 t ha-1), as well as water irrigation salinity at 50, 100, and 200 mM NaCl were evaluated under greenhouse conditions. The outcome uncovered that salinity caused significant reduction of plant growth and yield parameters, chlorophyll (at 21.6%), LRWC (at 18.9%), P (at 57.1%) and K (at 45.4%) content, while MDA content (at 351.8%), Na (at 266%), soluble proteins (70.2%), total phenolic (at 23.4%) accumulation showed an increase from 0 to 200 mM NaCl without BP application. The banana peel treatments (at 15 t ha-1 under 200 mM NaCl) diminished significantly damaging effects caused by salinity via a reduction in the Na (at 28.4%), total soluble sugars (at 17.8%), total flavonoids (at 20.1%), which enhanced number of leaves per plant (37.1%), plant height (at 19.8%), leave yield (at 41.4%), LRWC (at 12.8%), Mg (at 24.2%) and reduced the MDA content (at 20%), presenting a favorable effect in reducing the oxidative stress that emerged from salt stress. It could be concluded, that the application of 15 t ha-1 of BP was superior in promoting plant growth, yield, and nutritional quality than others under control and in the saline soils in this study. BP at 15 t ha-1 had a more reduced damage of salt stress effect on growth, yield, nutritional value, and use efficiency.