Effect of UV-B radiation on chlorophyll fluorescence, photosynthetic activity and relative chlorophyll content of five different corn hybrids

Abstract

This research presents an experimental study of the effect of UV-B radiation (7.5 Wm−2) on the change of the total concentration of chlorophyll ΔChl and energy that a plant can store during the process of photosynthesis. The aim was to investigate the effect of UV-B radiation to spectral lines of five genetically different corn hybrids and find the lines with better resistance. Chlorophyll fluorescence from plant leaves was used as experimental method. The plants were exposed to UV-B radiation for 19 days. The following results were obtained: a) there is a significant variation between different corn hybrids regarding the effect of UV-B radiation, b) an indicative element of change in the functioning of the photosynthetic apparatus is represented in variations in the relative composition of photosynthetic pigments, c) regardless of what may be the cause of the change of the plant's ability to deposit a part of absorbed energy in the primary products of photosynthesis, it has been shown that two out of five investigated corn hybrids show great resistance to UV-B radiation, and d) relative change of photosynthesis can be used as a measure of the plant's resistance to the harmful effect of UV-B radiation.

Keywords

• UV-B radiation
• Photosynthesis
• Chlorophyll fluorescence
• Corn