Ozone and sulfur dioxide effects on tall fescue. I. Growth and yield responses

Journal Article · Thu Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1982 · J. Environ. Qual.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq1982.00472425001100030013x· OSTI ID:5740661

Flagler, R B; Youngner, V B

The effects of ozone (O/sub 3/) and sulfur dioxide (SO/sub 2/) on growth and yield components of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb. 'Alta') were studied in a greenhouse experiment. Four O/sub 3/ treatments ranging from 0 to 0.30 ppm in equally spaced intervals and two SO/sub 2/ treatments, 0 and 0.10 ppm, were arranged factorially in a randomized complete block design utilizing three blocks. Each block was exposed to the pollutants 6 h/d, once a week, for 12 weeks. Statistical analysis was by analysis of variance and regression techniques. Ozone significantly affected root/shoot ratio and all dry weight fractions. Tiller weight was also affected adversely by O/sub 3/ with a linear decrease of >44% at the highest O/sub 3/ level. SO/sub 2/ also affected tall fescue, but not nearly as severely as O/sub 3/. Total dry weight was reduced by 7.3% due to SO/sub 2/. Root weight was decreased by 11%, but shoot weight was unaffected. Root/shoot ratio was lowered about 7% due to the pollutant. Weight per tiller was unaffected by SO/sub 2/. Number of tillers was significantly reduced by an interaction of the two pollutants. Neither O/sub 3/ or SO/sub 2/ had an effect singly, but at the high O/sub 3/ level, the addition of SO/sub 3/ caused an 18.6% reduction in number of tillers. This was the only significant pollutant interaction noted. (JMT)

• Research Organization: Univ. of California, Riverside
• OSTI ID: 5740661
• Journal Information: J. Environ. Qual.; (United States), Journal Name: J. Environ. Qual.; (United States) Vol. 11:3; ISSN JEVQA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560303* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology-- Plants-- (-1987)
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AIR POLLUTION
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
CHALCOGENIDES
DISPERSIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
GRASS
GROWTH
MIXTURES
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
OZONE
PLANT GROWTH
PLANTS
POLLUTANTS
POLLUTION
PRODUCTIVITY
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR DIOXIDE
SULFUR OXIDES