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Productivity of Field‐Grown Soybeans Exposed to Acid Rain and Sulfur Dioxide Alone and in Combination
Author(s) -
Irving P. M.,
Miller J. E.
Publication year - 1981
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/jeq1981.00472425001000040010x
Subject(s) - acid rain , fumigation , chemistry , sulfur dioxide , precipitation , point of delivery , zoology , sulfur , glycine , nitrogen dioxide , yield (engineering) , horticulture , agronomy , toxicology , biology , amino acid , biochemistry , meteorology , organic chemistry , metallurgy , inorganic chemistry , physics , materials science
Sulfur dioxide (SO 2 )‐fumigated and unfumigated field plots of soybeans ( Glycine max cv. Wells) were exposed to acid (pH 3.1) or control (pH ∼ 5.3) precipitation simulants to determine effects on growth and productivity. The precipitation simulants were applied at approximately 5‐day intervals in July and August with a total of 3.4 cm applied in 1977 and 4.5 cm in 1978. Sulfur dioxide fumigations of ∼ 4‐hour durations were performed 24 times in 1977 and 17 times in 1978, resulting in an average fumigation concentration of 0.79 ppm (89.6 ppm · hour dose) SO 2 the 1st year and 0.19 ppm (13.$ ppm · hour) the 2nd. The acid precipitation simulant produced no statistically significant effect on seed yield in either year and a 4% increase in seed size in 1978. The simulated acid rain may have contributed to the nutritional requirements of soybeans by providing S and N during the critical pod‐filling stage. Sulfur dioxide exposure decreased seed yields in both 1977 and 1978 by > 35 and 12%, respectively. Aceelerated senescence, as suggested by increased leaf fall, may be responsible for the decreased yield in the SO 2 ‐exposed plants. The SO 2 exposure appeared to negate the positive acid rain effect on seed size observed in 1978, when the two treatments were combined. Acid precipitation apparently increased the reduction in seed weight resulting from SO 2 exposure in 1977. Although visible injury was induced by acid rain exposure in a chamber study, only a small percentage (< 1%) of tissue was affected and there was no apparent effect on plant growth. The results of these studies suggest that the possibility for harmful effects on soybean yield from acid precipitation of a magnitude used in this study are minimal; however, soybean yields may be decreased by SO 2 exposures > 13.5 ppm · hour occurring during the growing season.