Responses of Phalaris canariensis L. Exposed to commercial fuels during growth

Abstract

The growth behaviour of canary grass (Phalaris canariensis L) when cultivated in presence of farming fuels is reported in this work. P. canariensis L. is relevant in several countries. It is an emergent plant for phytoremediation and biofuel activities. Variables as root length, stem length, total plant weight, green tissue weight (tiller, leaf), total chlorophyll and chlorophyll a/b ratio, were monitored during the growth in presence of commercial fuels (premium grade, regular grade, diesel and kerosene) at different concentrations. We applied a comprehensive statistical analysis to understand the results: Univariate analysis, factorial analysis of variance and subsequent Tukey test were applied to the variables to assess the significance of the differences found. The normality of these variables was analyzed with the Shapiro Wilks test. All parameters were affected by all type and concentrations of fuels and its interaction. This is one of the first reported cases which describe the responses of the growth parameters from canary grass when cultivated in presence of farming fuels.