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Ecology and Epidemiology

Effects of Sulfur Dioxide Exposure on the Development of Common Blight in Field-Grown Red Kidney Beans. K. L. Reynolds, Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-1801; M. Zanelli(2), and J. A. Laurence(3). (2)Biometrics Unit, Cornell University, Ithaca 14853; (3)Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-1801. Phytopathology 77:331-334. Accepted for publication 18 July 1986. Copyright 1987 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-77-331.

Field-grown red kidney beans Phaseolus vulgaris ‘California Light Red Kidney’ were exposed, using an open air fumigation system, to concentrations of SO₂ that ranged from 0 to 1.00 ppm (2,620 ?g m^–3 at standard temperature and pressure) for 3 hr two or three times per week between 10 July and 6 September 1982. Plants were inoculated at the beginning of the exposure period by spray application of a suspension of Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli in sterile water. Lesions were counted at 2- to 3-day intervals throughout the exposure period. Increasing cumulative SO₂ concentration resulted in a significant decrease in the rate of lesion appearance. The rate of this response remained constant over the course of the exposure period. Increasing cumulative SO₂ concentration also led to a reduction in yield of noninfected plants; however, there was no apparent reduction in yield of infected plants. Exposure to SO₂ effectively inhibited disease development but also reduced yield.