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Ozone and Sulfur Dioxide Effects on Tall fescue: I. Growth and Yield Responses
Author(s) -
Flagler R. B.,
Youngner V. B.
Publication year - 1982
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/jeq1982.00472425001100030013x
Subject(s) - shoot , dry weight , festuca arundinacea , randomized block design , chemistry , horticulture , ozone , zoology , agronomy , biology , poaceae , organic chemistry
The effects of ozone (O 3 ) and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) on growth and yield components of tall fescue ( Festuca arundinacea Schreb. ‘Alta’) were studied in a greenhouse experiment. Four O 3 treatments ranging from 0 to 0.30 ppm in equally spaced intervals and two SO 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. A reduction of total dry weight of 52.5% was found due to 0.30 ppm O 3 . A cubic regression model of O 3 concentration on total dry weight accounted for 93% of the variation in total dry weight. Partitioning the dry weight into shoot and root components revealed a reduction in shoot weight of up to 46% and a reduction in shoot weight of up to 46% and a reduction in root weight of up to 63.6% due to the high‐O 3 treatment. Both variables had significant cubic regressions of O 3 on dry weight with the cubic model accounting for 93 and 89% of the variation in shoot and root weights, respectively. Root/shoot ratio declined from 0.58 for control plants to 0.41 for plants exposed to 0.30 ppm O 3 . A significant cubic regression of O 3 on root/shoot ratio accounted for 78% of the variation in this variable. Tiller weight was also affected adversely by O 3 with a linear decrease ( r 2 = 0.85) of > 44% at the highest O 3 level. SO 2 also affected tall fescue, but not nearly as severely as O 3 . Total dry weight was reduced by 7.3% due to SO 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 2 . Number of tillers was significantly reduced by an interaction of the two pollutants. Neither O 3 or SO 2 had an effect singly, but at the high O 3 level, the addition of SO 3 caused an 18.6% reduction in number of tillers. This was the only significant pollutant interaction noted.