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EFFECTS OF SIMULATED ACIDIC RAIN ON YIELDS OF FIELD-GROWN CROPS
Citation:
Evans, L., K. Lewin, E. Cunningham, AND M. Patti. EFFECTS OF SIMULATED ACIDIC RAIN ON YIELDS OF FIELD-GROWN CROPS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-82/448.
Description:
Experiments were performed to determine the effects of simulated acidic rainfall on yields of radish (Raphanus sativa), garden beet (Beta vulgaris), kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) grown under standard agronomic practices. The experimental design allowed the detection of statistically significant differences among means that differed from each other by less than 10%. The plants were exposed to small additions of simulated rain at pH levels of 5.7, 4.0, 3.1, and 2.7. The spray-to-wet simulated rain applications were similar in volume to the median of all ambient rainfall showers. Some plants received no simulated rainfall and all were exposed to ambient rainfall at Brookhaven National Laboratory (Upton, N.Y.), which had a mean weighted pH of 4.06 during the summer of 1980. Root mass of radish was not significantly affected by simulated acidic rainfall.