REDUCTION OF CHRONIC OZONE INJURY ON POINSETTIA BY BENOMYL

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Abstract
Plants of poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima Wild.), cult Paul Mikkelsen and Mikkelwhite, were repeatedly exposed to ozone (O3) at 0.10 μl/liter (10 pphm) for 8 h/day, 5 days/wk for 68 days, and compared with plants grown in ozone-free, charcoal-filtered air. Benomyl (methyl-1-(butylcarbamoyl)-2-benzimidazole carbamate) was applied as a soil drench to plants in both air regimes at 0, 500, or 1,000 μg/ml, 3, 30, and 57 days after initiation of the experiment. Untreated plants of both cultivars exposed to O3developed symptoms of chronic O3injury expressed as chlorosis and senescence of lower leaves, decreases in stem diam and fresh and dry weights of stems and leaves. Benomyl soil drenches, at both rates, significantly reduced incidence of chronic O3injury on both cultivars.