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The Influence of Relative Humidity on Direct Sulfur Dioxide Damage to Plant Sexual Reproduction
Author(s) -
Murdy William H.,
Ragsdale Harvey L.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1980.00472425000900030034x
Subject(s) - relative humidity , anthesis , reproduction , sulfur dioxide , humidity , zoology , sexual reproduction , horticulture , chemistry , toxicology , botany , biology , ecology , physics , cultivar , thermodynamics
Results of in vivo experiments with Geranium carolinianum L. showed that sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) damaged sexual reproduction (in terms of decreased seed set) when relative humidity (RH) was 80% or above, but not when RH was 70% or below. Relative humidity alone, if 80% or higher, damaged sexual reproduction; the addition of SO 2 increased the damage. A high SO 2 dosage of 1.5 ppm/7 hours at 50% RH caused leaf injury, but decreased percent seed set < 5%, whereas a low SO 2 dosage of 0.2 ppm/7 hours at 90% RH decreased percent seed set by 32% without visible leaf injury. At an SO 2 dosage of 0.4 ppm/7 hours administered during anthesis, percent seed set was virtually identical with the control at 70% RH, 35% below the control at 80% RH, and 68% below the control at 90% RH.