జర్నల్ ఆఫ్ పొల్యూషన్ ఎఫెక్ట్స్ & కంట్రోల్
అందరికి ప్రవేశం

నైరూప్య

Assessment of Indian Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Genotypes for Response to Ozone Protectant and Tropospheric Ozone Biomonitoring Potential

Priya Khumukcham, Usha Mina*, Felicity Hayes, Kakul Smiti, Prachi Yadav

Tropospheric ozone (O₃) acts as a phytotoxic secondary air pollutant and a potent greenhouse gas. O₃ biomonitoring is a cost-effective approach compared to real time instrumental monitoring for identifying the potential effects of tropospheric O₃ on crop growth and yield. In this study, eight Indian bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) genotypes were assessed for O₃bio-monitoring potential along with the pre-identified O_3-sensitive (S156) and O₃ resistant (R123) bio-indicator Phaseolus genotypes provided by the international cooperative programme on effects of air pollution on natural vegetation and crops (ICP Vegetation), United Kingdom. One set of replicates was treated with the O₃ protectant Ethylene-Di-Urea (EDU) while the other set was left under ambient environmental conditions without any treatment. The genotypes exposed to ambient O₃ exhibited 0%-40% foliar ozone injury, though the timing of appearance of foliar O₃ injury symptoms was variable among the genotypes. Plants treated with EDU exhibited lower foliar injury. Foliar O₃ injury symptoms exhibited a significant positive correlation with cumulative O₃ exposure (R₂=0.73). The lipid peroxidation in bean plants under ambient O₃ was observed to be 10%-62% greater than that of plants treated with EDU. The total protein and total carbohydrate content were also 4%-43% and 7%-40% lower, respectively, in leaves of plants exposed to ambient O₃ as compared to plants treated with EDU. The results of the study indicate that the identified O₃ sensitive genotypes of Phaseolus vulgaris viz. C1 (EC-755298) and C3 (IC-49810) can be used as O₃ bio indicators for biomonitoring studies during the period between October and January in New Delhi, India.