Title: Use of ethylenediurea for assessing the impact of ozone on mung bean plants at a rural site in a dry tropical region of India

Authors: Suruchi Singh, Madhoolika Agrawal, S.B. Agrawal, Lisa Emberson, Patrick Bueker

Addresses: Ecology Research Laboratory, Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, India. ' Ecology Research Laboratory, Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, India. ' Ecology Research Laboratory, Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, India. ' Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK. ' Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK

Abstract: A field study was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of ethylenediurea (EDU) in assessing the impact of ozone (O₃) on mung bean plants (Vigna radiata L Malviya Janpriya) grown in a rural area of a dry tropical region of India. Mean monthly O₃ concentrations varied between 52.9-64.5 ppb. Significant reductions in growth, yield, soluble protein, pigments, and ascorbic acid in non-EDU-treated plants were observed when compared with EDU-treated plants. This clearly showed that EDU treatment provided protection against negative effect of O₃ on mung bean and therefore can be effectively used as a tool to assess phytotoxic O₃ concentrations in rural areas.

Keywords: ethylenediurea; O3; ozone; growth; yield; ascorbic acid; soluble proteins; pigments; mung bean plants; India; phytotoxic concentrations; rural areas.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2010.029697

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2010 Vol.5 No.1/2, pp.125 - 139

Published online: 01 Dec 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article