—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 11, 1972
8
Scientists Show Damaging
Effects of Air Pollution
Was your sweet corn gasping
for breath this year 9 Chances are
it could have been, especially if
you live along one of Lancaster
County’s heavily traveled high
ways
Scientists have demonstrated
in field experiments that ozone, a
major component of air pollution,
reduces yield in an agricultural
crop
Motor vehicle exhaust is the
primary source of ozone It is
formed as sunlight reacts with
the products of motor fuel
combustion
Previously, the deleterious
effects of air pollutants have been
mainly demonstrated and
measured by visible injury to
plants or by physiological
responses of plants in the
laboratory
Now the proof is m—ozone
reduces yield in sweet corn Field
studies on other crops are un
derway
ARS plant pathologist Allen S
Heagle conducted the pollution
study at Raleigh, NC , in
cooperation with mechanical
engineer Denis E Body and
biologist Evelyn K Pounds of the
Environmental Protection
Agency
The scientists exposed Golden
Midget and White Midget, both
well-known sweet corn varieties,
to charcoal-filtered air con
taining 0,5, or 10 parts per
p
1/
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hundred million (pphm) of ozone
for 6 hours each day from the
time the corn emerged until
harvesting These doses of ozone
are lower than those commonly
found in many urban areas
The corn was grown in 20 8-by
8-foot plots in field exposure
chambers of clear plastic film
Ozone caused more visible
injury and greater reductions in
growth and yield of Golden
Midget than White Midget This
confirms many observations that
some varieties of crop plants are
more tolerant to pollutants than
others
In Golden Midget corn,the
studies showed that the higher
the ozone concentration, the
greater the reductions in the
number of ears with kernels, the
amount of ear fill, and the
number of kernels per ear and
dry weight of the kernels For
example, the average number of
kernels per ear in ozone-free air
was 373, while in 10 pphm ozone
the number was 228 The dry
weight of kernels m 0 ozone
averaged 43 6 grams, and
averaged 23 8 grams in 10 pphm
ozone Moreover, there was leaf
injury, the plants were somewhat
shorter, and weighed less
The major effects of ozone on
White Midget occurred in yield
associated with seed set Ozone
caused no leaf injury or decrease
in plant size This suggests that in
354-4191
some varieties the physiological
processes necessary for suc
cessful seed set are more sen
sitive to ozone than other plant
growth processes. The number of
kernels per ear in White Midget
averaged 285 in ozone-free air
and 197 in air containing 10 pphm
ozone The dry weight of kernels
averaged 24 grams in ozone-free
air and 16 grams in air containing
10 pphm ozone
Because the ozone levels used
in this study were lower than the
levels commonly found in many
large urban areas, the results
suggest that yield loss in corn due
to air pollution may be greater
than previously realized
Currently, air pollutants of
most concern to vegetation in
clude ozone, PAN (peroxyzcetyl
nitrate), sulfur dioxide, and
fluoride In this country, ozone is
the major pollutant affecting
plants
ABPE Poses
Serious Cattle
Feeder Threat
Cattle feeders should be alert
for a serious cattle disease
problem resembling emphysema
in humans. Called acute bovine
pulmonary emphysema (ABPE),
it’s a disease that can be
mistaken for several other
problems, including weed
poisoning In some areas it has
been acute this year because of
unusually high moisture.
ABPE can develop rapidly
following a change in diet
Moving livestock from one
pasture to another is a likely time
for it to occur. Though the disease
is more prevalent in lactating
cows, feedlot cattle are not im
mune. AH breeds, both sexes and
all ages of cattle can contact the
disease.
Cattle with ABPE have dif
ficulty breathing. In many cases
they will stand with the neck
extended and show respiratory
difficulty with open mouth
breathing. They may also grunt
in an effort to exhale.
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Cattle Do Well on Drought- Damaged Corn
In a University of Nebraska
test, beef calves and lightweight
yearlings fed silage from drought
corn had similar average daily
gains and feed conversions as
cattle fed normal silage.
Researchers warn, however,
against labeling silage from
drought-damaged crops as equal
to normal silage without accurate
dry matter deterioration.
Drought silage is not only low
in yield per acre, but also is
usually low in dry matter con-
DRUMORE CENTER, RDI Quarryville, Pa.
PHONE 548-2116
tent. In addition, it may also be
light in dry matter content for its
bulk because of low grain content
and loose pack.
Another consideration: Though
drought-damaged silage may be
equal in feed value to normal
silage per ton of dry matter, the
cost of harvesting will usually be
higher because the yield per acre
is reduced. Thus an adjustment
must be made m harvesting costs
to determine the value of dry
matter standing in the field.