Abstract
This study determined the effect of X-irradiation on physiological and biochemical aspects in date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) seedlings. Using a medical X-ray device, 15-days-old seedlings were exposed to various X-rays doses (0, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, 500, 750, 1250 & 1500 rad). After growing the irradiated seedlings in soil for 2 months, chemical analysis was conducted. The data indicated that DNA content was dose dependent showing a significant increase with 5 rad, the lowest radiation dose tested and reaching the highest level at 25 rad. Similarly, the highest ions content was observed at 25 rad. A dose of 5 rad caused a significant increased sodium, potassium and phosphorus ions but a minimum dose of 10 rad was necessary to significantly enhance the content of calcium and magnesium ions. Conversely, total photosynthetic pigments started to diminish at 5 rad and continued to decrease with dose increases reaching the lowest level at 1500 rad. Significant reductions of chlorophyll a and carotenoids content started at 5 rad, whereas reduction of chlorophyll b occurred at 10 rad. This suggests that chlorophyll a and carotenoids are more sensitive to X-irradiation than chlorophyll b. (C) 2012 Friends Science Publishers