Environmental pollution is reflected in the activity of the photosynthetic apparatus

The efficiency of chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence for forecasting plant response to environmental pollution was examined in four wheat cultivars. The plants were irrigated with wastewater from Razi petrochemical complex. A forecasting model was designed based on the data of maximal quantum yield of photosystem II (F-v/F-m), efficiency of both photosystems (PIABS), and Chl contents of 60-d analysis. A comparison of the forecasting model results with the real data of F-v/F-m, PIABS, and Chl in response to wastewater suggested F-v/F-m as an accurate tool for stress forecasting. The high salt concentration in wastewater induced high accumulation of H2O2, lipid peroxidation, inhibition of photosynthesis, and reduction in contents of proteins and carbohydrates, which resulted in growth suppression of all cultivars. Taken together, the negative effect of environmental pollution on crop can be detected at an early stage of stress using F-v/F-m as a fast and accurate tool to prevent irrecoverable damage to plants.