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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Impact of Microplastic on Roadside
Vegetable Cultivation: A Case Study
of Agricultural Farmland
1
Department of Horticulture, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture Multan, 66000, Pakistan
2
Department of Zoology, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, Pakistan
3
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300354, People’s Republic of China
4
Department of Botany, University of Central Punjab, Constituent Punjab College Yazman Road Bahawalpur,
63100 Pakistan
5
School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University Hefei 230601, China
6
Institute of Forest Sciences, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan
7
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur,
Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan
8
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Agriculture Food Science, King Saud University,
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
9
Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Submission date: 2024-01-16
Final revision date: 2024-02-27
Acceptance date: 2024-04-30
Online publication date: 2024-09-04
Publication date: 2025-01-28
Corresponding author
Muhammad Jafir
School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University Hefei 230601, China
School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University Hefei 230601, China
Usman Zulfiqar
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2025;34(3):2525-2538
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Microplastic (MPs) pollution poses a significant threat to environmental integrity, particularly in
agricultural areas adjacent to roads. There is a dire need to know the occurrence of MPs on roadside
vegetable farmlands and their effect on the agro-ecosystem. Therefore, the study was planned to
investigate the influence of MPs on the growth and development of roadside vegetables in the city of
Multan, Pakistan. Analysis indicated that fiber, microbeads, and polythene bag particles were the main
types of MPs. The concentration of MPs was inversely correlated with the distance of farmlands from
the road. The maximum concentration of MPs (3490-3540 items/kg) was observed in the farmlands
near the road (site-1), while the minimum MPs (2698-2761 items/kg) were measured in the farmlands
located away from the road (site-3). Additionally, plant analysis showed that chlorophyll contents (a &
b) and ascorbic acid (AsA) contents measured in all the vegetables were directly correlated with the
distance from the road respectively Chl-a [(site-1 0.07-0.17), (site-2 0.14-0.20), (site-3 0.19-0.22 mg. g-1
FW), Chl-b [(site-1 0.04-0.23), (site-2 0.09-0.28) (site-3 0.17-0.36 mg g-1 FW)], AsA (site-1 0.54-0.64),
(site-2 0.95-1.13), (site-3 1.57-1.82 μmol g-1)] and malondialdehyde (MDA) [(site-1 6.16-14.5), (site-2 6.03-13.16), (site-3 5.16-11.33 nmol g-1), superoxide dismutase (SOD) [(site-1 200-224),
(site-2 175.33-199.6) (site-3 157.33-136.33 U g-1 FW)], h ydrogen peroxide (H2O2) [(site-1 12.5-14.66),
(site-2 6.16-10), (site-3 3.66-6.66 nmol g-1 FW)] and carotenoids contents [(site-1 0.058-0.099),
(site-2 0.033-0.069), (site-3 0.014-0.029 mg g-1 FW)] were inversely correlated with the distance from the
road. This study reveals the phytotoxicity of MPs for plant growth and yield as well as hazardous for
animals due to their possible transfer into the food chain. Our findings highlight the detrimental effects
of MP contamination on plant growth and yield, emphasizing the urgent need for mitigation strategies
for food security.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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