[Influence of ozone on snap bean under ambient air in two sites of northern China].

Tropospheric ozone (O3) has been assumed the most phytotoxic air pollutant and the snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is known to be an ozone-sensitive species. Two genotypes (R123, ozone-tolerance, S156, ozone-sensitivity) of snap bean were explored in three places. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the snap bean was influenced under the current ambient ozone concentration. The findings indicated that the leaves of bean grown at Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences (RCEES), Chinese Academy of Sciences and ChangPing showed visible ozone symptoms under the ambient ozone concentration, and the averaged ozone injury proportion in S156 was 23.5% higher than R123 during the entire growth season. The ozone damage to the snap bean depends on the plant growing stages. The injury symptoms appeared just after flowering, increased from the stages of flowering to pod formation, and reached the maximum at the stages of pod maturation. The ratio of S156/R123 in pod yield was 0.48, and 0.24 and 0.73 in the RCEES, ChangPing and Harbin, respectively. The ratio close to 1 was assumed that the plant growth is not affected by ozone, and the lower ratio is, the more damage caused by ozone. Obviously, the current ambient ozone concentration of Beijing area has significantly caused the yield loss of snap bean.