COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NYLON 6,6 AND HDPE MICROPLASTICS EFFECTS ON GROWTH OF WHEAT PLANT (TRITICUM AESTIVUM)

Abstract

Plastics in ocean have drawn considerable attention in last decade because the marine pollution has shown its effects in aquatic ecosystem thus, it is evident to public. Plastics in agricultural ecosystem have not shown direct effects but are also alarming as it can accumulate in crop plants and affect consumers by entering into the food web. Most of the plastics that get dumped in the ocean are produced and used on land. Through disintegration of plastics, microplastics and nanoplastics are generated and accumulated in significant quantities in soil. Further, these plastic particles contaminate terrestrial ecosystem, where these plastic particles might affect biota first and then spread to other ecosystems. Incidentally, plastics have been shown to alter biophysical and geochemical properties of soil. The dispersion and transport of plastics in soil could directly impact crop plants reducing crop yield. In this study, a pot experiment was conducted in natural environment where high density polyethylene and Nylon 6,6 were selected and used as examples of fibre and micro sized plastic residues in organic soil to study effects on wheat, terrestrial crop. The plastics were added in 1g, 2.5g and 5g concentrations in each pot. The results showed effects on growth, biomass, nitrogen and chlorophyll content of wheat plant. Plastics also caused oxidative stress in treated plants as compared to control.