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EFFECTS OF RAINFALL ACIDIFICATION ON PLANT PATHOGENS
Citation:
Shriner, D. AND E. Cowling. EFFECTS OF RAINFALL ACIDIFICATION ON PLANT PATHOGENS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/D-86/165 (NTIS PB86231404), 1980.
Description:
Wind-blown rain, rain splash, and films of free moisture play important roles in the epidemiology of many plant diseases. The chemical nature of the aqueous microenvironment at the infection court is a potentially significant factor in the successful dissemination, establishment, and survival of plant pathogenic microorganisms. Acidic rainfall has a potential for influencing not only the pathogen, but also the host organism, and the host-pathogen complex. Although host-pathogen interactions add a degree of complexity to the study of abiotic environmental stress of plants, it is our hope, through the use of a combination of general concepts, theoretical postulations, and experimental data, to describe the potential role that rainfall acidity may play in the often subtle balance between populations of plants and populations of plant pathogens. The direct effects of acidic precipitation on vegetation are becoming increasingly better understood. The indirect consequences of both acute and chronic exposure of vegetation to acidic precipitation are very complex, however. Their effect is variable in time, and involves a variety of potential interactions which are only partially understood.