Department of Botany, K. J. Somaiya College of Science and Commerce, Vidyavihar, Mumbai-400077.
Department of Botany, Smt. C. H. M. College, Ulhasnagar-421003, Thane, Maharashtra.
Salinity is one of the major factors which have an adverse effect on crop growth. Stress caused due to excessive accumulation of salts results in various physiological and biochemical changes in plants. Due to their nutritional value, leafy vegetables constitute an important part of our daily diet. In the present investigation, effect of NaCl salinity on the activity of ribulose 1,5–bisphosphate carboxylase in three leafy vegetables was studied. Seeds of leafy vegetables were sown in earthen pots and were subjected to different levels of saline water (NaCl) treatment. Control plants were irrigated with tap water. Treatments started after the seedling emergence and continued till the plants were 45 day old. Mature leaves of these plants were harvested and used for the studies. The activity of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate in all the three leafy vegetables was observed to decrease gradually with increase in the concentration of NaCl in the growth medium.
Keywords:Leafy vegetables; Ribulose 1,5–Bisphosphate Carboxylase; Salinity.