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Ozone a potential threat to corn yield

A new study reveals the potential threat of ozone to corn plants, with yield losses reaching 10%.

Nicole Choquette was a master’s student at the University of Illinois during the study. She tells Brownfield ozone is a noxious chemical byproduct of fossil fuel combustion.

“It actually enters the plant the same way carbon dioxide does. It diffuses from the atmosphere into the leaf and through the stomata. It is a very highly reactive molecule that damaged biological tissues.”

Choquette says there is not much farmers can do right now since it is a hidden yield loss that cannot be directly controlled, but says the next step is research to breed hybrids for ozone tolerance.

“In the future climate is going to change, but we are not exactly sure how. So, I think being prepared as much as possible and to limit that ozone yield gap is important.”

Although the study focused on corn, Choquette says ozone can impact the yield of other crops including soybeans, wheat and rice.

Researchers from the USDA, University of Illinois, University of Florida and University of California, Davis participated in the study.