The effect of ozone on cottonwood – leaf rust interactions: independence of abiotic stress, genotype, and leaf ontogeny

Abstract

The interaction of an acute ozone dose, plant genotype, and leaf ontogeny on the development of cottonwood leaf rust on eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr.) was investigated. A rust-resistant (ST 66) and a rust-susceptible (ST 109) clone were exposed to charcoal-filtered air or were fumigated with 393 μg m−3 (0.20 ppm) ozone for 5 h. Forty hours after fumigation, leaf material of different developmental ages was inoculated with urediospores of Melampsora medusae Thum., and uredia production was measured after 10 days. Ozone fumigation of cottonwoods significantly reduced uredia production by M. medusae on both clones and all leaf ages without causing visible leaf injury or measurable changes in cottonwood height growth, leaf production, leaf length, or root/shoot biomass. Uredia production was strongly affected by ozone treatment, cottonwood genotype, and leaf age, but interactions among these three factors did not occur.