Rupam Kapoor

• Ph.D.
• Professor (Full) at University of Delhi

Mushrooms are not only delicious additions to various dishes but also possess several health benefits due to their diverse nutritional composition. they are a good source of essential nutrients including protein, vitamins, minerals, and dietary fibre, and are low in fats and calories. comprehensive studies have been carried out with respect to the...

Seredipita indica (formerly Piriformospora indica) is an endophytic fungus that establishes the symbiosis within the roots of various plants, exhibiting analogous functions to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. S. indica can proliferate in vitro in synthetic media, without the need of a host. Due to its isolation from desert environments, S. indica is p...

Endophytes are microorganisms that inhabit various plant parts and cause no damage to the host plants. During the last few years, a number of novel endophytic fungi have been isolated and identified from medicinal plants and were found to be utilized as bio-stimulants and bio fertilizers. In lieu of this, the present study aims to isolate and ident...

Climate change has universally affected the whole ecosystem in a unified manner and is known to have improbable effects on agricultural productivity and food security. Carbon dioxide (CO 2) and temperature are the major environmental factors that have been shown to increase sharply during the last century and are directly responsible for affecting...

Kargil is a cold desert with hostile ecological conditions such as low temperature and precipitation, as well as difficult terrains. However, several wild mushrooms thrive well under such an extreme environment. Despite their abundance, the chemical composition of indigenous mushrooms has not been explored. This study aimed to assess the potential...

The use of biofertilizers has been the spotlight of research aiming to mitigate the food security threat as well as to restore the fertility of agricultural lands, for decades. Several studies are being conducted to unravel the role and mechanisms of plant growth-promoting microbes. In the present research, we evaluated the effect of silver nanopar...

In pursuance of feeding the burgeoning population and achieving global food and nutrition security in the context of climate change, there is a pressing need to usher toward climate-smart, sustainable agriculture that is more resistant and resilient toward environmental abnormalities. In this regard, there is a progressively increasing recognition...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are obligate symbionts that affect plant growth. However, the magnitude and direction of the influences of AMF are variable, and it is yet unclear about the factors contributing to the variability. In this quest, the study evaluated whether the differences are, in part, due to variation among AMF in terms of their...

The study aimed at investigating Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (AM) mediated metabolic changes in two genotypes of mungbean (Vigna radiata) differing in their salt tolerance in presence of salt stress (100mM NaCl). Colonisation by Claroideoglomus etunicatum resulted in higher growth, photosynthetic efficiency, total protein content, and lower levels of str...

Utilization of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (AMF) as a sustainable strategy in redeeming arsenic (As) toxicity in plants is a promising approach. Low As accumulation, restoration of physiological processes, and As tolerance by AMF have been documented in crop plants. However, to comprehend AM-mediated As tolerance in plants, understanding the...

In the current research, unique Nano-Embedded Fungus (NEF), made by the synergic association of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and endophytic fungus (Piriformospora indica), is studied, and the impact of NEF on black rice secondary metabolites is reported. AgNPs were synthesized by chemical reduction process using the temperature-dependent method and...

In the present communication, two members of the family Strophariaceae have been reported of which Pholiota populnea is a new record from India while P. squarrosa is the first regional record from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Pholiota populnea was found on the dead wood of Populus alba and is characterized by reddish-brown,...

Pleurotus shentelii, a new edible mushroom is described based on collections from the cold arid Trans-Himalayan region of Drass (Kargil) of Ladakh, India. It is characterized by white to whitish basidiomata turning brownish with age, elongated to cylindrical basidiospores, fusoid cheilocystidia with acuminate tip, and occurrence on roots and lower...

Salt stress is one of the major abiotic stresses that severely affect plant growth and yield, and also affect the livelihood of people all around the world. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonize majority of terrestrial plants, including halophytes, xerophytes and glycophytes, and facilitate their functioning by various physiological, biochemi...

Fungal endophytes are known to play a vital role in perpetuation and survival of orchids. While orchid-mycorrhizal relationship has been studied in detail, dynamics of orchid-non-mycorrhizal associations are insufficiently explored. There is paucity of empirical evidence for host specificity, phylogenetic preference, co-evolution, and habitat selec...

The potential of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in augmenting arsenic (As) tolerance in wheat is well recognized; however, its effect on mineral profile of grains under As stress is not known. The study was performed to assess the effectiveness of Rhizophagus intraradices on acquisition, translocation, and accumulation of minerals in grains of wheat...

N and S play a significant role in plant growth and development and stimulate the production of secondary metabolites with anti-microbial properties. Under elevated CO2, plants raise their rate of carbon fixation causing increments across the synthesis of carbon that further lead to increased synthesis of carbon-based defence compounds and decremen...

Soil is an indispensable resource of the terrestrial ecosystem that provides manifold ecosystem services. Soil functions include regulation of nutrient cycle aided by armies of decomposers present in the soil, anchorage of plants and facilitation of their growth, sustenance of water quality, and regulation of water filtration, air quality, and temp...

Environmental stresses of (a)biotic origin induce the production of multitudinous compounds (metabolites and proteins) as protective defense mechanisms in plants. On account of the regulation of some of these compounds, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) reinforce the inherent tolerance of plants toward the stress of different origins and kind. Thi...

Two new species of genus Lactarius from India, Lactarius sarthalanus (L. subg. Plinthogalus) and L. drassinus (L. subg. Lactarius) are presented with detailed descriptions, line drawings and microphotographs. The novelty and placement of these taxa within the genus Lactarius are confirmed with ITS based phylogeny.

Fusarium oxysporum (Fo) is a notorious pathogen that significantly contributes to yield losses in crops of high economic status. It is responsible for vascular wilt characterized by the browning of conductive tissue, wilting, and plant death. Individual strains of Fo are host specific (formae speciales), and approximately, 150 forms have been docum...

Soil is an indispensable resource of the terrestrial ecosystem that provides manifold ecosystem services. Soil functions include regulation of nutrient cycle aided by armies of decomposers present in the soil, anchorage of plants and facilitation of their growth, sustenance of water quality, and regulation of water filtration, air quality, and temp...

Contamination of agricultural soil by arsenic (As) is a serious menace to environmental safety and global food security. Symbiotic plant–microbe interaction, such as arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), is a promising approach to minimize hazards of As contamination in agricultural soil. Even though the potential of AM fungi (AMF) in redeeming As tolerance...

The increasing interest and demand of Ocimum tenuiflorum L. and its products in different industrial sectors necessitate appropriate cultural practices for cultivation of the plant with increased herbage and essential oil yield. Studies on O. tenuiflorum in relation to arbuscular mycorrhiza are restricted to evaluation of diversity of the mycorrhiz...

Present work attempts to correlate soil salinity, pH and electrical conductivity with Na⁺, K⁺ and Ca²⁺ uptake in field-grown salt-sensitive, semi-salt tolerant and salt-tolerant sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) plants. Accompanying steep rise in soil salinity and electrical conductivity, salt sensitive sunflower plants exhibit root proliferation, r...

Endophytic fungi are known to play an important role in driving the evolution of plants by conferring adaptational advantages to their host through the production of secondary metabolites and phytohormones. In this study, we evaluated the diversity and phylogenetic relationship of endophytic fungal communities from four Dendrobium species viz., Den...

Alternaria leaf spot (ALS) caused by Alternaria carthami Chowdhary is one of the major threats to the cultivation of safflower in the world. The pathogen is seed borne and requires early detection for restricting its transmission and proliferation. A PCR-based diagnostic assay was developed for easy, quick and reliable detection of A. carthami in i...

Cold stress is an important abiotic factor that adversely affects the growth and productivity of different agricultural crops globally. It leads to slower plant metabolism, cell membrane rigidification and loss of function, solute leakage, protein disintegration, depletion in sugar metabolism, and reproductive loss. The ever-increasing population a...

Glycine betaine (GB), an osmolyte, is produced in chloroplasts by the action of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH) on its precursor betaine aldehyde. The present work highlights the significance of nitric oxide (NO) in GB homeostasis as a long-distance salt (120 mM NaCl) stress-elicited response. In light-grown seedling cotyledons, both the acti...

Safflower wilt, incited by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. carthami (Foc) is one of the most devastating diseases of safflower. Virulence and genetic diversity of 90 Foc isolates representing four major safflower growing states (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh) in India were analyzed. Out of 45 RAPD and 45 ISSR primers screened, 17...

Field surveys were conducted in two major safflower growing states of India for two consecutive cropping seasons (2015-16 and 2016–17). A total of 872 fields spanning 22 districts of Karnataka and Maharashtra were examined to determine the occurrence and distribution of various fungal diseases on safflower. Safflower fields were found to be infeste...

The diversity of plant communities has been continuously declining due to habitat loss, invasive species and anthropogenic disturbances. This way, many valuable plant species have become extinct and others would have also the same fate even before they are discovered. Therefore, an urgent requirement is to devise long-term strategies to ensure thei...

Modern agriculture is facing twin challenge of ensuring global food security and executing it in a sustainable manner. However, the rapidly expanding salinity stress in cultivable areas poses a major peril to crop yield. Among various biotechnological techniques being used to reduce the negative effects of salinity, the use of arbuscular mycorrhiza...

Safflower wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. carthami (Foc) is a major limiting factor for safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) production worldwide. In India alone, about 40–80% disease incidence has been reported. A rapid, efficient, specific, and sensitive diagnostic technique for Foc is therefore crucial to manage Fusarium wilt of safflower....

Alternaria leaf spot caused by Alternaria carthami is one of the most devastating diseases of safflower. Diversity among 95 isolates of A. carthami was determined using virulence assays, enzyme assays, dominant (ISSR) and co-dominant (SSR) markers. Collections and isolations were made from three major safflower producing states of India. The virule...

Safflower is an important crop plant catering to the livelihoods of a large number of farmers in Indian Deccan Plateau. Fusarium oxysporum carthamii (Foc) infects Safflower, during early stages in Safflower life cycle and is responsible for a substantial reduction in its productivity. One of the approaches to introduce Foc-resistance in safflower c...

Gray mold disease inflicted by Botrytis cinerea is a serious menace responsible for significant economic loss worldwide. Due to its polyphagous nature, the pathogen has enthused inquisitiveness in researchers to unravel its complexity. Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation was used to generate insertional mutants of Botrytis cinerea. A...

Botrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic pathogen that infects many important crops. In an attempt to unravel some novel factors that govern pathogenicity in B. cinerea, Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation (ATMT) was deployed, and a number of tagged transformants were generated. Among these, a mutant, BCM-29 exhibited slower growth rate, re...

Elevated CO2 is known to affect plant’s constitutive defense by bringing about changes in its structure and biochemistry. Recently, it has been seen that not only constitutive defense but also induced defense is altered by elevated concentrations of CO2. Phytohormones such as salicylic acid and jasmonic acid play an important role in modulating ind...

Piriformospora indica, a root endophytic fungus, promotes growth of the economically important chickpea plant (Cicer arietinum Linn.) and protects it against the pathogenic fungus Botrytis cinerea. Biomass and root development were found to be significantly improved in chickpea plants colonized with P. indica as compared to the plants grown without...

Botrytis cinerea is a typical necrotrophic pathogen accountable for inflicting disease in a wide range of host plants. The fungus possesses a large number of enzymes and metabolites that are released at different stages of invasion. Furthermore it manipulates the plant hypersensitive response and promotes programmed cell death as a part of its viru...

Arsenic (As) contamination has transitioned into a global threat, hampering the survival of millions. Chemical fixation/remediation techniques have proved to be inadequate to reduce As toxicity. Use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in alleviation of As stress is a reliable and efficient approach. AMF have been reported to be present in As cont...

Terpenoids, in addition to being essential for plant growth and survival, are commercially valued for their medicinal properties, ecological significance, and used as flavors and fragrances. Prospective role of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) symbiosis in improving the accumulation of secondary metabolites especially terpenoids has gained recognition ov...

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) can help plants to tolerate arsenic (As) toxicity. However, plant responses are found to vary with the host plant and the AM fungal species. The present study compares the efficacy of two AM fungi Rhizoglomus intraradices (M1) and Glomus etunicatum (M2) in amelioration of As stress in wheat (Triticum aestivum L. var. HD-2...

Pictorial representation of various treatments of As and AMF innoculation in Triticum aestivum L. var. HD-2967.

Histochemical staining showing AMF colonization in root cortical cells of Triticum aestivum L. var. HD-2967 with (A) arbuscules and (B) vesicles of Rhizoglomus intraradices; (C) arbuscules and (D) vesicles of Glomus etunicatum stained with trypan blue. Bar = 50 μm.

Endophytic fungi isolated from medicinal plants can be good sources of medicine. Satyrium nepalense and Herminium lanceum are two medicinally important orchids. Decoction of stems, roots and tubers of Satyrium nepalense, locally known as ‘Salam mishri’, is prescribed in various ailments and also as dietary supplement since ancient times. H. lanceum...

The accrual of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a common biochemical response to all abiotic and biotic stresses in plants. ROS are extremely lethal to biological cells causing oxidative damage to DNA, lipids and proteins. Plants have developed many strategies to overcome oxidative stress to restore the redox homeostasis. One of the strategies is t...

Background: Plants, though sessile, employ various strategies to defend themselves against herbivorous insects and convey signals of an impending herbivore attack to other plant(s). Strategies include the production of volatiles that include terpenoids and the formation of symbiotic associations with fungi, such as arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM). This...

Heavy metals (HMs) when present in high concentrations are toxic to most plants. Excessive HM uptake by plants results in reduced growth since HMs disrupt cell plasma membrane, disintegrate cell organelles, and inhibit certain physiological and biochemical processes. HMs alter enzyme activity, denature proteins, and suppress protein synthesis. Expo...

Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) produces steviol glycosides (SGs) - stevioside (stev) and rebaudioside-A (reb-A) that are valued as low calorie sweeteners. Inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) augments SGs production, though the effect of this interaction on SGs biosynthesis has not been studied at molecular level. In this study transcri...

It is becoming increasingly evident that the formation of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) enhances secondary metabolite production in shoots. Despite mounting evidence, relatively little is known about the underlying mechanisms. This study suggests that increase in artemisinin concentration in Artemisia annua colonized by Rhizophagus intraradices is due...

Seventy nine isolates of B. cinerea were collected from different host plants and different locations of India and Nepal. All the isolates were identified as B. cinerea based on morphological features and were confirmed using B. cinerea specific primers. Differentiation among the isolates was assessed using morphological, genetic and biochemical ap...

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of Glomus intraradices colonization on the activity of antioxidant enzymes [superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (PX), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and glutathione reductase (GR)] and the accumulation of nonenzymatic antioxidants (ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol, glutathione, and ca...

The sweet herb of Paraguay, Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni), is becoming more important worldwide in herbal care for diabetes, as it produces the zero-calorie sweeteners steviol glycosides (SGs) stevioside and rebaudioside-A. While arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have been shown to enhance production of secondary metabolites in many plant species, t...

The present investigation was carried out in a free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) facility to assess the effect of elevated CO2 on the incidence and severity of three foliar diseases of Brassica juncea cv. Pusa Tarak. Exposure of plants to elevated concentration of CO2 (550 ppm) revealed lower incidence and severity of Alternaria blight caused by Alter...

Soil stresses such as salinity, drought, and heavy metals are major hindrances to crop productivity as these can significantly decrease plant growth and production. Colonization with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can enhance plant tolerance to these stresses. Arbuscular mycorrhizal associates are integral, functioning parts of plant roots and...

The study unveils that inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (Glomus intraradices Schenck and Smith) prevents salt-induced ultrastructural alterations in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) plants. Mycorrhizal (M) and non-mycorrhizal (NM) fenugreek plants were subjected to four levels of NaCl (0, 50, 100, and 200 mM NaCl). Salt-induce...

The study was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of Glomus fasciculatum, Trichoderma viride and Pseudomonas fluorescens, alone and in combinations to control disease spread in tomato plants infected with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. The three biological control agents were effective in controlling the disease; however the succes...

Culling of excess carbon dioxide from our environment is one of the major challenges to scientific communities. Many physical, chemical and biological methods have been practiced to overcome this problem. The biological means of CO 2 fixation using various microorganisms is gaining importance because database of their substantial role in reversing...

CO₂ fixing microbes are the species primarily engaged in complexing the inorganic carbon dioxide to organic carbon compounds. There are many microorganisms from archaeal and bacterial domain that can fix carbon dioxide through six known CO₂ fixing pathways. These organisms are ubiquitous and can survive in wide range of aerobic and anaerobic habita...

The study aimed to investigate the effects of an AM fungus (Glomus intraradices Schenck and Smith) on mineral acquisition in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) plants under different levels of salinity. Mycorrhizal (M) and non-mycorrhizal (NM) fenugreek plants were subjected to four levels of NaCl salinity (0, 50, 100, and 200 mM NaCl). Plant ti...

Salt stress has become a major threat to plant growth and productivity. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonize plant root systems and modulate plant growth in various ways. This review addresses the significance of arbuscular mycorrhiza in alleviation of salt stress and their beneficial effects on plant growth and productivity. It also focuses on re...

The CSD database contains a list of microorganisms involved in biological fixation of carbon dioxide. The database allows managing of information related to carbon dioxide fixation utilizing microbes belonging to four different classes i.e. microorganisms, genus listing, mechanisms and literature. The database can help in devising biological strate...

Triticum species of three ploidies were grown under ambient (375μl/l) or elevated (FACE, 550μl/l) CO2 concentration [CO2] to evaluate their response to CO2 enrichment. The consistent effect of elevated CO2 was an increase in concentration of starch and decrease in concentration of protein in the grain. Transmission electron micrographs revealed an...

The CSD database contains a list of microorganisms involved in biological fixation of carbon dioxide. The database allows managing of information related to carbon dioxide fixation utilizing microbes belonging to four different classes i.e. microorganisms, genus listing, mechanisms and literature. The database can help in devising biological strate...

The study reports diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) species in the rhizosphere of an endangered anticancerous herb - Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. in its natural habitat. A total of 18 species of AMF, belonging to three genera (Acaulospora, Glomus and Gigaspora) were recorded, with Glomus microcarpum being the most abundant species ty...

Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis produces a potent mosquitocidal protein, Cry4A. We have identified a 15-bp catabolite responsive element (cre), overlapping the -35 element of the cry4A promoter. Changing a guanine to adenine at position -49 in the promoter abolished glucose catabolite repression of cry4A and enhanced promoter activity two...

A field experiment was conducted to study and compare the effectiveness of two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), Glomus macrocarpum (GM) and Glomus fasciculatum (GF) on three accessions of Artemisia annua. The AM inoculation significantly increased the production of herbage, dry weight of shoot, nutrient status (P, Zn and Fe) of shoot, concentrat...

Over the past few years, micropropagation techniques are being widely used as an important and advantageous tool for rapid propagation of several commercially important varieties of horticultural and forest tree species. Although, this technology has got several successful applications, low survival rates and poor growth while shifting these plantl...

Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. (family Hypoxidaceae) is an endangered anticarcinogenic and aphrodisiac herb, native of India. This study reports the effect of three arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal inocula on post-transplanting performance of ‘in vitro’ raised C. orchioides plantlets. The three AM fungal inocula consisted of two monospecific cultur...

The study shows that Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) are capable of imparting disease tolerance in tomato plants pre-infected with Fusarium Oxysporum f. sp. Lycopersici (FOL). Inoculation of tomato seedlings with Glomus Macrocarpum (GM) or Glomus Fasciculatum (GF), 20days after infection with FOL reduced pathogen spread and disease severity by 7...

A pot experiment was conducted to examine the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, Glomus fasciculatum, and salinity on the growth of Acacia nilotica. Plants were grown in soil under different salinity levels (1.2, 4.0, 6.5, and 9.5 dS m(-1)). In saline soil, mycorrhizal colonization was higher at 1.2, 4.0, and 6.5 dS m(-1) salinity levels in A...

Annual wormwood (Artemisia annua L.) produces an array of complex terpenoids including artemisinin, a compound of current interest in the treatment of drug-resistant malaria. However, this promising antimalarial compound remains expensive and is hardly available on the global scale. Synthesis of artemisinin has not been proved to be feasible commer...

A pot-culture experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus (Glomus macrocarpum Tul. and Tul.) on plant growth and Cd2+uptake by Apium graveolens L. in soil with different levels of Cd2+. Mycorrhizal (M) and non-mycorrhizal (NM) plants were grown in soil with 0, 5, 10, 40 and 80Cd2+mgkg−1soil. The infect...

The effect of two arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, Glomus fasciculatum and G. macrocarpum on shoot and root dry weights and nutrient content of Cassia siamea in a semi-arid wasteland soil was evaluated. Under nursery conditions, mycorrhizal inoculation improved growth of seedlings. Root and shoot dry weights were higher in mycorrhizal than non-my...

The effect of inoculation of two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Glomus fasciculatum, and G. macrocarpum, alone and in combination, on establishment and growth of Acacia auriculiformis in a wasteland soil was studied under nursery and field conditions. Under nursery conditions, mycorrhiza-colonized seedlings showed significantly higher root shoot dry...

Two arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi Glomus macrocarpum and Glomus fasciculatum significantly improved growth and essential oil concentration of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. However, AM inoculation of plants along with phosphorus fertilization significantly enhanced growth, P-uptake and essential oil content of plants compared to either of the compone...

The effect of salinity on the efficacy of two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Glomus fasciculatum and G. macrocarpum, alone and in combination was investigated on growth, development and nutrition of Acacia auriculiformis. Plants were grown under different salinity levels imposed by 0.3, 0.5 and 1.0S m-1 solutions of 1M NaCl. Both mycorrhizal fungi p...

The effects of application of two arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi Glomus macrocarpum and G. fasciculatum on shoot biomass and concentration of essential oil in Anethum graveolens L. and Trachyspermum ammi (Linn.) Sprague fruits were evaluated. Results revealed significant variation in effectiveness of the two AM fungal species. AM fungal inoculat...

The effect of association of two vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi, Glomus macrocarpum and G fasciculatum , on the concentration and composition of essential oil in coriander ( Coriandrum sativum ) was studied. VAM inoculation increased the essential oil concentration in fruits by as much as 43%. Although significant variation in effecti...

The role of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in yie,u augmentation of crop is well established yet little is understood about their growth, biology and ecology. These fungi form a symbiotic relationship with plant roots, and the fungal symbiont becomes a major interface or connection between soil and plants, therefore studies on mycorrhizal s...

This chapter give a brief account about salt stress and its effect on plant growth, nutrition and on distribution, type and number of VAM fungi. VAM help in establishment of plants under salinity stress. Techniques to assess soil and plant activity has also been given.

Growth of C. tetragonoloba suffered with increase in concentration of Pb in soil. Plant biomass declined significantly at concentrations above 60 ppm of Pb. Roots showed more pronounced impact as compared to shoots. At highest applied concentration of lead (100 ppm), fresh weight of fruits decreased by 33% and dry weight by 52% as compared to contr...