IMPACT OF AUTOVEHICULAR DENSITY AND BIOCLIMATIC CONDITIONS ON THE QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE CHARACTERS OF AZADIRACHTA INDICA A. JUSS.

The impact of auto-vehicular pollution on the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of Azadirachta indica A. Juss. growing along different polluted roads of Karachi was evaluated. Reductions in leaves parameters such as leaf area, leaf fresh and dry weight of A. indica were observed at University Campus, University Road, Board Office Road, Shaheed-e-Millat Road and Shahrah-e-Faisal during different seasons of the years from, 2008-2009. Some visual observations as leaf color, fruit and seed production were also recorded periodically, which showed variation at different sites. Results indicated that A. indica at control site were growing as fast as they were given the favorable resources such as bio-climatic factors which include heat index, chill, humidity, temperature and wind speed naturally available to them but road-side pollution stressed the growth. Climatic conditions were comparatively different on the city roads as compared to the University Campus. The automobiles density has significantly (p<0.05) reduced the leaf area of A. indica at Shahrah-e-Faisal in summer season (July, 2008). The soil of the studied area showed a high percentage of CaCO3 slightly alkaline pH, electrical conductivity (E.C.), total dissolved salts (T.D.S.) in city roads as compared to University Campus soil. These findings demonstrated that traffic density and harsh bio-climatic conditions showed poor appearance and reduction in the qualitative characters and biomass of A. indica.