Effect of Some Leaf Characteristics on Determination of Leaf Chlorophyll Content of Hevea brasiliensis with SPAD-502 Chlorophyll Meter

Chlorophyll meter SPAD-502 is widely used in determining leaf chlorophyll content in fieldplants as it is non-destructive and less time consuming. Currently, there are about 25 Heveagenotypes recommended by the Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka. Characteristics ofleaves, i.e., leaf thickness, wax and water content varies among the genotypes and also couldaffect the readings of the SPAD-502 chlorophyll meter. Therefore, this study was carried outto investigate effect of leaf thickness, wax and water content on determination of leafchlorophyll content of H. brasiliensis with SPAD-502 chlorophyll meter.Most commonly grown Hevea genotypes i.e., RRIC 121, RRIC 100, RRISL 203 and RRISL2001 were selected for the study. Leaf samples of each genotype were collected from thebudwood nurseries in Dartonfield Estate, Agalawatta. SPAD value of each leaf sample wasmeasured and subjected to analyse the actual chlorophyll content by acetone extractionmethod. Leaf thickness, water content and epicuticular wax content of each leaf sample werealso measured by using standard test methods.The highest leaf thickness, wax content and water content were observed in RRIC 100genotype whilst RRISL 203 genotype gave the lowest values. Leaf chlorophyll content ofRRIC 121 genotype was comparatively lower with an average value of 36.51 μg/cm2.However, the highest leaf chlorophyll content was observed in RRISL 203 genotype and theaverage value was 54.28 μg/cm2. Despite the genotype average, leaf wax content and watercontent were 79.75 μg/cm2 and 55.79%, respectively whilst leaf thickness was 0.126 mm.Pearson correlation coefficients for leaf thickness, wax content and water content vs. readingof SPAD-502 chlorophyll meter were above 0.05% and revealed that these three parametersdid not affect the reading of SPAD-502 chlorophyll meter significantly (p=0.05) indetermination of leaf chlorophyll content of H. brasiliensis.Keywords: Chlorophyll, Epicuticular wax, Hevea, Leaf thicknes

Biowaste Management: Banana Fiber Utilization for Product Development

Banana is a crop that is primarily cultivated for its fruit, mainly in the tropical countries of the world. After harvesting, nearly 60% of its biomass including pseudostems are being left as a waste. Due to the favorable mechanical and chemical characteristics of the fiber extracted from different parts of this crop, various products could be produced by utilizing the banana fiber. This review paper focuses on the products that have been developed from banana fiber as a source of natural fiber. Also, it is being discussed as a reinforcement for polymeric materials in novel applications in different industrial levels