International Journal of Horticulture 2015, Vol.5, No.9, 1
-
8
1
Research Article Open Access
Effect of Aluminum Sulfate on the Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll b, Carotenoids
and Anthocyanin Content in Some Cultivars of Hydrangea (
Hydrangea
macrophylla
)
Eid G.M.
1,
, Albatal N.
2
, Haddad S.
2
1. PhD student, Horticulture department, Agriculture college, Damascus university, Syria.
1. Professors, Horticulture department, Agriculture college, Damascus university , Syria.
Corresponding author email
International Journal of Horticulture, 2015, Vol.5, No.9 doi: 10.5376/ijh.2015.05.0009
Received: 24 May, 2015
Accepted: 10 Jun., 2015
Published: 12 Aug., 2015
Copyright
© 2015 Eid et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article
:
Eid G.M., Albatal N and Haddad S., 2015, Effect of Aluminum Sulfate on the Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll b, Carotenoids and Anthocyanin Content in Some
Cultivars of Hydrangea (
Hydrangea macrophylla
), International Journal of Horticulture, 2015, Vol.5, No.9 1-8 (doi
Abstract
The experiment was conducted in Hama governorate (Bammraa village) during the spring and summer seasons 2011- 2012
to study the effect of Aluminum on the content of chlorophyll a, b and Carotenoids in leaves and also the content of anthocyanin in
sepals. Aluminum in leaves and flowers was measured to estimate its amount in all treatments.
Aluminum sulfate was supplied in different concentrations (control, 50 mg/l, 100 mg/l, 150 mg/l) to two cultivars of
Hydrangea
macrophylla.
Nikko Blue (a cultivar with blue color flower), Pia (a cultivar with deep pink color flower).These plants were two years
old and planted in pots. It was used four treatments, there was three replications in every treatment and in every replication there was
six plants. The media was peat moss and perlite (2:1).
Results indicated that increasing Aluminum sulfate more than 50 mg/l caused a decrease in the content of chlorophyll a, b and the
content of Carotenoids in leaves, Also anthocyanin was best in the concentration 50 mg/l in the two cultivars with significant
differences.
In addition, the results showed that the cultivar (Nikko blue) was more responsive in some studied indicators. Also it was proved that
the amount of Aluminum in leaves was more than in the flowers of the two cultivar .
Keywords
Hydrangea;Cultivars; Aluminum; Chlorophyll a; Chlorophyll b; Carotenoids; Anthocyanin.
Introduction
The Hydrangea genus contains about 70-75 species of
various flowering plants (Jones and Reed, 2006). This
scientific name comes from two Greek words “Hydro”
and “aggeino” which means “water vessel”(Lassiter,
2000).
Most of these species are shrubs, some are small trees,
while others are of the climbing variety (Bailey, 1998).
It has a beautiful, perennial bushes with huge flower
heads. These deciduous bushes profusely produce
huge, round flower heads which have two kinds of
florets: Sterile, or ray florets, are male and form the
large, colorful sepals on the outside of the flower head.
The fertile florets bear the male and female parts and
are usually found in the center of the cluster (Mojahed
et al., 1969). Flowering of these plants are produced
by the plant from early spring to late autumn. Hydrangea
are native to North and South America, Himalayas,
central and eastern Asia (Dirr, 2004).
Hydrangea macrophylla
is a species of Hydrangea and
it is the only species that is spread in Syria in the
coastal and mountaineer areas. Common names include
big leaf Hydrangea, French Hydrangea, Lacecap
Hydrangea, Mophead Hydrangea, Penny Mac and
Hortensia (Adkins and Dirr, 2003). It is widely cultivated
in many parts of the world in many climates (Jessica,
2008). In most species the flowers are white in color,
but in others the flowers can be changed to blue, red,
pink, or purple (Smith et al., 2008). Hydrangeas are
very popular plants for ornamental purposes, people
seem to love them for their large flower heads
(Albatal, 2003).
The color of hydrangeas will vary considerably due to
the pH of the soil they are growing in (Tilt, 2008).
Kikelly (2006) reported that the blue hues are best in
acid soil and the degree of blueness is controlled by
the amount of available aluminum and the capacity of
