Humidification potential of five plants inhabiting arid zone of Rajasthan

Stomata are minute apertures, which are present mostly on lower epidermis and also on upper epidermis of the leaves. In arid zone evapotranspiration exceeds water absorption, so stomatal control of water loss is of great importance for the survival of the plants in this habitat. The present study was investigated to know the humidification potential of five desert plants viz., Azardirachta indica, Calotropis procera, Salvadora persica, Tecomella undulata and Zizyphus nummularia. Micromorphological characters of leaves i.e., stomata density, stomata size, stomata index and stomata complex type was determined using Magnus pro software fitted on Olympus CH20i- TR microscope. Transpiration rate was determined using LI-6400 portable photosynthetic system. All the data were analysed statistically to know the Humidification Potential by relating Micromorphological characters with Transpiration rate. Results revealed that stomata density and stomata index had negative relation with Transpiration rate while stomata size had positive relation with Transpiration rate. Calotropis procera has high humidification potential followed by Zizyphus nummularia, Azardirachta indica, Tecomella undulata and Salvadora persica. This is due to the fact that rate of transpiration is higher in Calotropis procera followed by Zizyphus nummularia, Azardirachta indica, Tecomella undulata and Salvadora persica respectively. The study reveals the adaptive strategy of plants to survive in the harsh arid region.