‘Environment adaptive plants to help control pollen’

Islamabad : The plantation of fastest growing plants in the federal capital would help control the pollen count unlike paper mulberry trees that have already affected the citizens with pollen allergy.

Pir Mehr Ali Shah (PMAS) Arid Agriculture University Forest expert Dr Lubna Ansari told APP in an exclusive interview that the species being planted by the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration had very small size pollen and was sustainable in air.

She said the increased pollen count occurred mainly due to Lantana Camara also West Indian Lantana and paper mulberry where both were invasive species.

The ICT administration had planted saplings of pine, ficus (fig trees), silver oak, chinar tree, bottle brush, alstonia and ornamental shrubs that were climate change adaptive and had benign pollen existing in the air.

Dr Lubna had also made research on plant growth promoting Rhizo-bacteria to mitigate drought and climate change risk.

The research was successfully carried out in the districts of Potohar plateau namely Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal and Rawalpindi.

The rhizo-bacteria were first isolated and then inoculated in the roots of leguminous trees, which produced positive results in reducing drought stress, and climate change conditions in the region, Dr Lubna said, who is also faculty member of Department of Forestry and Range Management of the University.