Which crops are especially sensitive to atmospheric ozone?

Question

In this National Park Service article, the effects of ozone on trees is discussed:

Ozone enters plants through leaf openings called stomata and oxidizes plant tissue, causing changes in biochemical and physiological processes. Both visible foliar injury (e.g., stipple and chlorosis) and growth effects (e.g., premature leaf loss, reduced photosynthesis, and reduced leaf, root, and total dry weights) can occur in sensitive plant species. Many other factors can magnify the extent of ozone injury such as soil moisture, presence of other air pollutants, insects or diseases, and other environmental stresses.

I assume that ozone can adversely affect many types of plants, including agricultural crops. Which crops are especially sensitive to atmospheric ozone?

Answer 1

I could find a relatively recent review by Mills et al. (2007) that lists sensitivity to ozone for several crops. Among the most sensitive were (table 1)

• Watermelons (albeit with very few data points used)
• Pulses
• Cotton
• Wheat

While the most resistant crops were

• Barley
• Fruits (Plums and Strawberries)
• Broccoli

The measure for ozone used in this review is AOT40, which accounts for accumulated ozone levels over 40ppbV within the time from 8AM to 8PM.

Answer 2

All crops will not produce correctly if the soil is too lose and wet, fungus and rot will take place on the fruit and the root without a 8 hour dry cycle time. The only crops that will survive in the environment you are concerned about are root vegetables

Taproot (some types may incorporate substantial hypocotyl tissue)

Arracacia xanthorrhiza (arracacha) Abelmoschus moschatus (bush carrot) Beta vulgaris (beet and mangelwurzel) Brassica spp. (rutabaga and turnip) Bunium persicum (black cumin) Burdock (Arctium, family Asteraceae) Carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) Celeriac - (Apium graveolens rapaceum) Daikon - the large East Asian white radish (Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus) Dandelion - (Taraxacum) spp. Lepidium meyenii (maca) Microseris scapigera (yam daisy) Pachyrhizus spp. (jicama and ahipa) Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) Petroselinum spp. (parsley root) Radish - (Raphanus sativus) Scorzonera hispanica (black salsify) Sium sisarum (skirret) Tragopogon spp. (salsify) Vigna lanceolata (bush potato) Tuberous root Amorphophallus galbra (Yellow lily yam) Conopodium majus (pignut or earthnut) Dioscorea polystachya (nagaimo, Chinese yam, Korean yam, mountain yam) Hornstedtia scottiana (Native ginger) Ipomoea batatas (sweet potato) Ipomoea costata (desert yam) Manihot esculenta (cassava or yuca or manioc) Mirabilis extensa (mauka or chago) Psoralea esculenta (breadroot, tipsin, or prairie turnip) Smallanthus sonchifolius (yacón)

Rhizome

Curcuma longa (turmeric) Panax ginseng (ginseng) Arthropodium spp. (rengarenga, vanilla lily, and others) Canna spp. (canna) Cordyline fruticosa (ti) Maranta arundinacea (arrowroot) Nelumbo nucifera (lotus root) Typha spp. (cattail or bulrush) Zingiber officinale (ginger, galangal)

Tuber

Apios americana (hog potato or groundnut) Cyperus esculentus (tigernut or chufa) Dioscorea spp. (yams, ube) Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem artichoke or sunchoke) Hemerocallis spp. (daylily) Lathyrus tuberosus (earthnut pea) Oxalis tuberosa (oca or New Zealand yam) Plectranthus edulis and P. esculentus (kembili, dazo, and others) Solanum tuberosum (potato) Stachys affinis (Chinese artichoke or crosne) Tropaeolum tuberosum (mashua or añu) Ullucus tuberosus (ulluco)