Water samples from selected locations of Nullah Lai and Koh-e-Noor textile mill in the metropolitan city of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan, were collected. Physicochemical parameters and heavy metals were determined using standard analytical procedures in comparison with sites, locations and subsequent interval of 3 months. The results of the physicochemical analysis at different locations of Nullah Lai and Koh-e-Noor textile mill with an interval of 3 months were obtained in the following range: pH (7.16-8.29), temperature (17.8-28.8 °C), conductivity (1,005-3,347 μS/m), TDS (754.3-2,519.5 mg/L), turbidity (272.8-487.05 NTU), total hardness (300-452 mg/L), nitrates (10.11-22.95 ppm), calcium (74.31-139.2 ppm), chloride (127.72-396.16 ppm), sulphate (15.97-87.38 ppm), NaCl (210.5-631.1 ppm), Ni (0.30-0.72 ppm), Cd (0.005-0.03 ppm), Cr (0.2-7.4 ppm), Pb (0.12-0.73 ppm), Zn (0.03-0.08 ppm) and Cu (0.01-0.06 ppm). The highest value of physicochemical parameters (compared with Nullah Lai) was obtained in locations of Koh-e-Noor textile mill. The results obtained exceeded the maximum allowable limit set by the World Health Organization for drinking purpose but can be used for irrigation purposes after suitable treatment and purification.

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2 Critical concentration in recommended plant tissue is an important tool for diagnosing nutrient deficiency. Internal requirement of five chili (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivars was estimated from yield response curves attained from a field experiment by applying 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 kg boron (B) ha −I . Boron application significantly increased dry fruit yield and maximum increase ranged from 11 to 19%. The cultivars varied in B efficiency and cv. 'Nepali' was most B efficient (90%) while cv. 'NARC # 4' was the least (84%). Internal chili B requirement, associated with 95% of maximum yield attained, was 0.90 kg B ha −1 . Plant tissue critical B concentration was 20 mg B kg −1 in whole shoot, 24 mg B kg −1 in matured leaf, and 15 mg B kg −1 in seed. Results demonstrate that proposed diagnostic criteria can successfully be used to cure the B problem in chili.

Salinity reduces the uptake of manganese (Mn) and induces its deficiency, which adversely affects photosynthesis-related photosystem-II activity, hence growth is hampered. The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of Mn application on the photosystem-II activity on the isolated thylakoid membranes of the rice. A hydroponic study was carried out in the glasshouse of National Agriculture Research Centre, Islamabad, Pakistan on two rice varieties, Pakhal and KS-282, using three replicates. Three salt concentrations, namely 0, 25, 50 mM NaCl were used. Manganese sulphate was used for foliar and root application with four concentrations (0, 2, 4, 8 µg Mn mL -1 ). Salinity decreased the concentration of Mn, while the application of Mn, increased the contents of Mn in shoot and root. Increased salt concentration caused a decrease in the chlorophyll contents while Mn application increased chlorophyll contents across all the salinity levels, with maximum increase at 2 µg Mn mL -1 . Photosystem-II activity was inhibited by increasing salt concentration, while Mn treatment rescued this inhibitory affect, with maximum photosystem-II activity recovery at 2 µg Mn mL -1 level in both varieties. Quite high concentration of Mn was observed in root application methods as compared to foliar but it failed to recover salinity impact on photosystem-II and photosynthesis. Applying Mn as foliar increased tolerance to salinity at 50 mM NaCl level while root application was found better at 25 mM NaCl concentration in culture solution.