The Effect of Microplastics on the Chlorophyll Content of Solanum lycopersicum L
Rosina Wickham
February 12, 2023
ISBN: 979-8-89480-841-3
Approximately 107,000- 730,000 tons of microplastics are dumped into agricultural soil yearly. It has recently been reported that microplastics change the chlorophyll content of pumpkins, decrease root and shoot growth, and decrease the leaf number. There is a great deal of information on microplastics causing harm to the environment, including negatively impacting crops grown in contaminated soil. However, there is very little research on how microplastics in the soil may alter the chlorophyll levels of Solanum lysopersicum L., the tomato plant. This is a research study designed to investigate the effect that microplastics have on Solanum lycopersicum L.'s chlorophyll content. Upon planting, tomato seeds were exposed to 0.1% microplastics in the soil, 0.2% microplastics in the soil, or no microplastics (control). Day of germination, the height of the plant, and leaf number were recorded daily for 39 days. On day 39, the plants were harvested and the root length and chlorophyll content was measured. The results of the experiment concluded that plants exposed to 0.2% of microplastics had an overall decrease in chlorophyll, leaves, delayed germination, height, and mass. These results agreed with the study that evaluated the chlorophyll contents of pumpkins exposed to microplastics. In conclusion, microplastics are a rising threat to the environment. The higher percentage of microplastics found in the environment, the worse agriculture The Effect of Microplastics on the Chlorophyll Content of Solanum lycopersicum L Rosina Wickham will become. For future research, increased concentrations of microplastics could be used or the effects of different types of plastic could be assessed
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