Effects of storage conditions on chlorophyll content in diploid black wattle (Acacia mearnsii)

Abstract

Black wattle (Acacia mearnsii de Wild) is a commercially important forestry species in South Africa, however, being an exotic it is also seen as an invader of indigenous vegetation. Research into producing a sterile variety is underway and one such route being explored is the production of a polyploidy. Within this research it is critical to have reliable and affordable methods to identify the polyploids from the normal diploid material, one such method identified is using chlorophyll content. A practical limitation of this method is that many of the samples being tested are in the field and away from the laboratory and thus research has been aimed at storage of the samples as a means to preserve the chlorophyll prior to absorption spectral analyses. The effects of storage of leaves on chlorophyll content were determined in five non-identical two year-old nursery diploid black wattle genotypes. Fifteen leaf samples from each genotype were either oven dried and then stored for one week or one month at room...