Ozone Sensitivity Differences in Five Tomato Cultivars: Visible Injury and Effects on Biomass and Fruits

Abstract

Five tomato cultivars (Nikita, Ailsa Craig, Moneymaker, UC 82 L and Piedmont) were exposed in open-top chambers to three ozone treatments: charcoal-filtered air (F); non-filtered air (NF); and non-filtered air plus 70 ppb ozone (NF+, 8 h, 133 days). Ozone-specific visible symptoms were recorded for all cultivars in the NF and NF+ treatments. All cultivars showed a reduction of root biomass in the NF+ treatment, root-biomass reductions were also observed in the NF treatment in Nikita (29%) and UC 82 L (33%). Four cultivars from the NF+ treatment showed reductions in aboveground dry biomass (25-50%). The sensitive cultivar Nikita also decreased its aboveground dry biomass (28%) at the end of crop cultivation in the NF treatment. Crop production showed generalized reductions in the total number of ripe and unripe fruits in the NF+ treatment (53-73%), with Nikita presenting a 24% decrease in the total number of ripe fruits in the NF treatment as well. A decreased ripeness rate was detected in all cultivars in NF+ and in three cultivars in the NF treatment (Nikita, Moneymaker and Piedmont). The effect of ozone on total crop production (kg m −2 ) was more important in the early harvest (50-63%) than in the late harvest. The ozone doses in the NF+ treatment affected fruit quality in all cultivars with the exception of Piedmont. Nikita and Ailsa Craig also showed fruit quality changes in the NF treatment. Nikita seems to be an ozonesensitive cultivar, UC 82 L and Piedmont are more ozone-tolerant and the other two cultivars are in an intermediate position.

Effect of Ozone Exposure on Growth, Yield and Isoprene Emission from Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) Plants

“…Reduction in total number of leaves of exposed plants was increasing with age as well as with ozone concentration. This results are contradictory to observations of Calvo et al (2007), initial decrease and subsequent increase in total number of leaves in different tomato cultivars.…”

Consistent ozone-induced decreases in pasture forage quality across several grassland types and consequences for UK lamb production

“…Donnelly et al, 2001, Vandermeiren et al, 2005 and tomato (e.g. Bermejo, 2002, Calvo et al, 2007. However, in addition to effects on agricultural crops that are used directly as a food source, several individual experiments have shown effects on yield and quality of component species of pasture used for animal grazing.…”

Radish plant behaviour under short-term elevated ozone fumigation

“…High O 3 concentrations have long been known to affect many physiological and biochemical characteristics, as well as growth and yield of agricultural crops [4][5][6] and natural vegetation [7][8][9]. It is generally assumed that damage by O 3 is mainly the result of reactive oxygen species formation, promoting oxygen toxicity in the plant cell [10].…”