Available online at www.worldscientificnews.com ( Received 17 August 2018; Accepted 02 September 2018; Date of Publication 03 September 2018 ) WSN 109 (2018) 131-142 EISSN 2392-2192 Effect of air pollution on plant growth and pollen viability Partha Talukdar 1, *, Nandini Ghosh 2 , Samaresh Malik 3 , CH. Atikur Rahaman 3 1 Department of Botany, Serampore College, Serampore, University of Calcutta, William Carey Road, Hooghly, West Bengal – 712201, India 2 Division of Plant Biology, Bose Institute, Kolkata – 700009, India 3 Department of Botany, University of Burdwan, Burdwan – 713104, India *E-mail address: parthatalukdar4@gmail.com *Phone: +919231531769 ABSTRACT Air pollution in our surrounding is increasing day-to-day due to urbanization and industrialization. In this report the effect of air pollution on vegetation was investigated. Polluted and non-polluted sites were chosen and comparative study was done on the climatic factors, level of pollution and their effects on vegetation of these areas. Plants found in the polluted area showed stunted growth, chlorosis and scars on stem and leaves. These were the effect of obnoxious gaseous elements which were found in elevated level in the polluted area. Pollen viability of the plants growing in the polluted area was lower than that of non-polluted site. This study portrays a clear view of adverse effects of air-pollution on plants. Keywords: Air pollution, Pollen viability of the plants growing, plants' vegetation