~ 1479 ~ Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2017; 6(6): 1479-1482 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 JPP 2017; 6(6): 1479-1482 Received: 10-09-2017 Accepted: 11-10-2017 GK Bagri Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Uttar Pradesh, India P Raha Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Uttar Pradesh, India R Kumari Department of Plant Protection, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India DK Bagri Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India DL Bagdi Department of Plant Physiology, S.K.N. College of Agriculture, Jobner, Rajasthan, India Correspondence GK Bagri Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Uttar Pradesh, India Evaluation of the anions composition of rain water in Varanasi GK Bagri, P Raha, R Kumari, DK Bagri and DL Bagdi Abstract The analysis of rain water samples were carried out in the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry Laboratory at the Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi during 2015. The rain water samples of three different location viz. Lanka (Banaras Hindu University, campus), Mirzamurad and Babatpur which are relatively free from industrial pollution were examined during south-west monsoon period (July to September) in Varanasi using standaralize collection and analytical techniques for evaluation chemical composition of rain water. The titrimetric techniques were employed to the determination of Cl - , CO3 2- , HCO3 -, and NO3 - and PO4 3- were estimated by colorimetric methods. It was observed that basic anions content (CO3 2- and HCO3 - ) in rain water of Varanasi was found much higher than acidic anions content (Cl - + SO4 2- + NO3 - + PO4 3- ). Keywords: rain water, anions, analytical techniques, chemical composition Introduction The increased acidity of rainfall that has been observed in many parts of world may be due to largely to the increase in atmospheric oxides of sulphur and nitrogen from anthropogenic sources. Acid precipitation is also of concern in developing countries as in India where the rainwater is nost yet acidic (Subramanian and Saxena, 1980) [6] . Atmospheric NH3, which is predominantly biogenic in origin, can partially neutralize the acids and cause a decrease in the acidity of rain water, The chemical composition of atmospheric aerosols and particulate matter can also have a market effect on the acidity of precipitation. It has been considered that alkaline dust generated by wind erosion, along with gaseous NH4 generated by bacterial action in the cultivated lands, can neutralize and thus influence the extent of acid precipitation. Soil in India is, by and large, dusty and rich with basic components like Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ , and is the main cause for the observed high levels of aerosols in the atmosphere (Khemani et al., 1984) [2] . According to Khemani et al. (1984) [2] . The phenomenon of acid rain poses no special problem in India, so long as the aerosol state of the air, which is presently alkaline, continues to remain so. However, low pH values in rain water in India, might be restricted to localized regions in highly industrialized cities. An additional factor that is often neglected is the presence of the carbonic acid-bicarbonate buffer system in rain water. The concentration of these buffer components are important in maintaining a pH which is suitable for living organisms and in controlling pH of the rain water at value greater than 5.0.On the other hand, rain water is an important hydrologic input to many forest/agro-ecosystem, but little is known about the chemistry of this form of precipitation. Chemicals carried in such finely dispersed water are deposited directly into leaves and could be a significant factor in vegetative growth, especially at high elevations where forests/commercial crops are often bathed in rain and fog water for long periods. Varanasi is situated on the banks of river Ganga and thus characteristically new alluvial tract. Cropping system in this district is typically rice-wheat, along with some important pockets of vegetables. 80% of annual rainfall in Varanasi and its adjoining district occurs in the summer monsoon season. As agro ecologically Varanasi is a semi-arid zone of India, there is high possibility of chemicals carried in finely aerosol in atmosphere could be deposited onto the leaves of crops through rainfall and could be a contributing factor in plant growth. This theme gave the author an impulse to think about the impacts of chemical composition of rainwater in plant growth in this non industrialized alluvial track of Varanasi district. It has been found from a survey report that although some research works concerning the acid rain and chemical composition of rainwater are available in few parts of India, but there appears to be no systematic investigation on the chemical composition of rain water and it impacts on plant growth in the alluvial tract of Varanasi district, eastern Uttar Pradesh. Thus it’s thought