Chlorophyll as a measure of plant health: Agroecological aspects

As photosynthesis is the basic process during which light energy is absorbed and converted\udinto organic matter, the importance of the plant pigment chlorophyll (a and b forms) as an intermediary\udin transformation of the absorbed solar energy and its activity in the process of photosynthesis\udand synthesis of organic substances in plants are crucial. Therefore, this paper provides\udan overview of methods for monitoring the optical activity of chlorophyll molecules and\udmethods (non-destructive and destructive) for quantification of chlorophyll in plants. These\udmethods are used to estimate the effects of different stress factors (abiotic, biotic and xenobiotic)\udon the efficiency of photosynthesis and bioproductivity, aiming to assess the impact that\udthese limiting factors have on the yield of various cultivars. Also, those methods for analysis of\udchlorophyll optical activity and/or content are appropriate for assessing the reaction of weed\udspecies to different agricultural practices (mineral nutrition, treatment by herbicides, etc.) and\udstudies of different aspects of weed ecophysiology and their influence on crop harvest