Ozone-Sensitivity of Seven Milkweed Species (Asclepias spp)
Mercado ME1, Decoteau DR2, Marini RP2 and Davis DD3*
1Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology, The Pennsylvania State University, USA
2Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, USA 3Department of Environmental Microbiology, The Pennsylvania State University, USA
2Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, USA 3Department of Environmental Microbiology, The Pennsylvania State University, USA
*Corresponding author: Davis DD, Department of Environmental Microbiology, The Pennsylvania State University,University Park, PA, USA, Email: ddd2@psu.edu
Copyright: © Mercado ME, et al. 2021. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Article Information: Submission: 11/11/2020; Accepted: 11/03/2021; Published: 15/03/2021
Abstract
Tropospheric ozone (O3) is considered to be the most important phytotoxic air pollutant across many parts of the USA and continues to be of major
concern in natural ecosystems worldwide. Milkweed species (Asclepias spp) are among the most O3-sensitive plants that occur in natural ecosystems, as
well as a weed in agricultural systems. Seven milkweed species were exposed to O3 during 2020 within controlled-environment chambers in a greenhouse.
Arizona, bloodflower (syn. ornamental), and common milkweed developed the greatest O3-induced leaf injury (“stipple”) and were considered to be very
sensitive to O3. The response of purple milkweed was variable. Slimleaf milkweed exhibited low levels of leaf stipple and was considered tolerant. Horsetail
and pineneedle Milkweed were considered resistant to O3. Results were entered into a master table, which now lists the relative O3-sensitivity of 27 of 76
(36%) milkweed species common in the USA.