ORIGINAL PAPER Aeropalynological study in Rohtak city, Haryana, India: a 2-year survey Manisha Ahlawat • Pushpa Dahiya • Dhruva Chaudhary Received: 11 October 2011 / Accepted: 26 June 2012 / Published online: 18 August 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012 Abstract An aeropalynological survey was con- ducted at two different sites in Rohtak city, Haryana, at a height of 1.8 m, three times a day, for two consecutive years (July 2007–June 2009). A total of 31 pollen types were identified to the lowest taxo- nomical level whenever possible. The major contrib- utor to the pollen load was Cannabis sativa (28.9 %) followed by Poaceae (20.65 %), Chenopodiaceae/ Amaranthaceae (10.56 %), Parthenium hysterophorus (6.80 %), Morus alba (6.15 %), Artemisia sp. (4.03 %), Cyperus sp. (3.20 %) and Eucalyptus sp. (3.07 %). Two major pollen seasons were recognized, that is, July– October and March–April, although pollen was recorded in varying concentrations all along the year. Spatial variations were also observed, with higher pollen loads at the site surrounded by dense vegetation. The study will provide preliminary but useful data to local allergologists for effective diagnosis and treat- ment of respiratory allergic ailments. Keywords Pollen Á Hypersensitivity Á Spatial variations Á Seasonal variations 1 Introduction Pollen is male gametophytic generation of seed plants and acts as a vehicle for the transport of gametes to female reproductive structure (pistil). Nature employs different agencies for accomplishment of this process, the most common being wind. Due to their aerial prevalence all year round, they play a major role in the pathogenesis of respiratory allergic ailments, particularly allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma (Kang et al. 1979; Nair et al. 1986; Belmonte et al. 1998; Leuschner et al. 2000; Singh and Kumar 2003; Garcia-Mozo et al. 2006; Shukla and Shukla 2010). These diseases are in rising phase worldwide including Asian countries (Weeke 1992; Chhabra et al. 1998; Singh and Kumar 2003; Gaur et al. 2004; Harwanegg and Hiller 2004; DA ´ mato et al. 2007). The rise is mainly attributed to urbanization, industrial- ization, environmental pollution and change in lifestyle (Hussan et al. 2002; Singh and Dahiya 2008; Sharma et al. 2009). For effective management of these ailments, detailed information on the type and concentration of airborne pollen is prerequisite. Therefore, aeropal- ynological studies are important to understand the pollen spectrum of different geographical areas (New- mark 1968; Singh and Babu 1982; Solomon 1983; Lewis et al. 1984; DA ´ mato and Lobefalo 1989; Agashe and Alfadil 1989; Malik et al. 1991). A lot of information is available on airborne pollen types from temperate countries, but the subject has received relatively less attention in tropical and M. Ahlawat Á P. Dahiya (&) Department of Botany, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak 124001, Haryana, India e-mail: pushpa.dahiya@hotmail.com D. Chaudhary Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Health Sciences, Rohtak, Haryana, India 123 Aerobiologia (2013) 29:121–129 DOI 10.1007/s10453-012-9268-9