Use of Bel-W3 Tobacco as indicator plant for atmospheric ozone during different seasons in the coastal zone of Israel

Bel-W3 Tobacco, which is highly sensitive to ozone, was grown in two glass chambers and exposed to the ambient air at the periphery of Tel-Aviv, during winter, spring, summer and autumn 1978. During the exposure time, atmospheric ozone was continuously measured by a chemiluminescent monitor. Throughout the experiments, plants' height was measured and the number of leaves was determined three times weekly. The extent of injury to the tobacco plants was measured by the percentage of injured plants, the percentage of injured leaves and the percentage of leaves' area injured. Necrotic lesions, typical for ozone injury, appeared on the mature leaves of the exposed tobacco plants in three out of four exposures. Appearance of incipient injury differed among the experiments and depended not only on exposure duration and on ozone concentrations, but also on the exposure conditions (like light intensity, temperature and humidity), which considerably influenced the appearance of the injury. The percentage of injured leaves and the percentage of leaves' area injured, increased with the duration of exposure and with rising cumulative ozone concentrations.