‘Tiny Tim’ tomato plants were exposed to five CO2
treatments (375 (ambient), 450, 525, 600 or 675 μmol mol−1)
in combination with O3 (0 or 80 nmol mol−1).
Biomass
was evaluated following 3, 5, 7 and 13 wk exposure. Biomass
following 13 wk exposure also included weekly harvests of mature tomato
fruit
beginning week 8. Carbon dioxide
enrichment significantly enhanced total vegetative plant d. wt at each
harvest,
as well as cumulative yield of mature
fruit, whereas O3 significantly suppressed total vegetative
plant
d. wt at each harvest and reduced total cumulative
fruit yield. The magnitude of these changes varied with the development
of
tomato from early growth to mature
fruit yield. Carbon dioxide enrichment reduced the detrimental effects
of
O3 on total vegetative plant d. wt
of tomato following 3, 5, 7 and 13 wk exposure. Final mature fruit yield
was 24% higher under enriched
CO2 treatments than in ambient CO2. Ozone suppressed
final yield by 31% following exposure to
80 nmol mol−1 O3 when compared with exposure
to
charcoal-filtered (CF) air. The impacts of both CO2 and O3
on yield were, however, dependent upon the presence or absence of the
other gas. In the absence of O3, yields were
very similar for the ambient and elevated CO2 treatments, but
in the presence of O3, yields under ambient CO2
were greatly suppressed whereas yields under elevated CO2 were
similar to those in the absence of O3.
Thus, enriched CO2 ameliorated most of the suppressive effect
of
O3 on yield of mature fruit.