Chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and photosynthetic pigments of four Glycine max varieties under Aluminium chloride stress

Abstract

Soy bean (Glycine max L.) is a commonly grown legume crop in Kenya. Soy bean grains are among the world's most important in terms of protein content of 35-40% and oil content of 15- 22%. Soy bean grains are also rich in essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals (Alvim et al., 2012). Considerable attention has been focused on assessing the impact of aluminium (Al) stress on cultivated plants because its stress is often the primary factor limiting crop production in acid soils (Kochian, 1995). Soluble aluminium is toxic to the roots of most plants leading to reduced growth and reduces plant production rate. Aluminium reaches the photosynthetic cells posing negative effects on photosynthetic accessory pigments associated with both photosystem I and II (Cai et al., 2011). Cai et al.(2011) observed that Aluminium affects plants physiologically including the quantity of chlorophyll pigments …