Abstract
To evaluate the effect of inclination angle of the leaf on the leaf injury of rice by O3, we examined the effect of a 5-hr exposure to 0, 0.1, 0.3 cm3 m-3 O3, abbreviated as O0, O0.1 and O0.3, respectively, of the flag leaf using natural-light gas-exposure chambers. The middle portion of the flag leaf was set horizontally using lead weights (H plant) and it was compared with a non-treated, erect leaf (E plant). Gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence were measured immediately before, immediately after, and 1 and 3 d after the start of the exposure. The net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and operating quantum efficiency of photosystem II (Fq’/Fm’) were decreased by the exposure to O3. Furthermore, the inhibitory effects of O0.1 and O0.3 on the H plants were severer than those on the E plants. The maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) in the leaf of H plants decreased immediately after exposure to O3. These results indicate that the weaker inhibitory effect of O3 on the erect leaf depends on the lower light intensity at the leaf surface, rather than the horizontal leaf position.
