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A preliminary survey of airborne pollen in Madras City

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Abstract

The atmospheric pollen of Madras city was surveyed during a 1-year period (January–December 1995) with a vertical cylinder trap. A total of 32 pollen types were identified, among which nine were present throughout the year. These belonged to Poaceae,Casuarina equisetifolia Foster and Foster f.,Prosopis juliflora (SW.) DC.,Acalypha indica L.,Parthenium hysterophorus L., Cyperaceae,Cocos nucifera L., Amaranthaceae, andTypha angustata Borry and Chaub. Among the identified pollen, 61.05% belonged to trees, 21.01% to grasses, 11.65% to herbs and 6.27% to shrubs. Anemophilous pollen contributed about 52.87% to the total while entomophilous and amphiphilous pollen contributed 38.89 and 8.22%, respectively. Pollen belonging to Poaceae were found to be most predominant in the air of Madras city followed byCasuarina equisetifolia andProsopis juliflora.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Advanced Studies in Botany, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, 600 025, Madras, India

    Sivasubramani Satheeshkumar & Balumuri Pandu Ranga Vittal

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  1. Sivasubramani Satheeshkumar
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  2. Balumuri Pandu Ranga Vittal
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Satheeshkumar, S., Vittal, B.P.R. A preliminary survey of airborne pollen in Madras City. Aerobiologia 14, 69–73 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02694597

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02694597

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