Effects of ozone on 14C translocation velocity and growth of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) exposed in open-top chambers

Growth and yield were reduced but 14C translocation velocity was not affected by increasing levels of ozone in spring wheat exposed in open top chambers to the following treatments: charcoal filtered air (CF), non-filtered ambient air (NF), or NF with addition of 30 μl litre−1 ozone, 8 h daily (NFO). Destructive harvests were performed at anthesis and at maturity. Parts of the flag leaf or the second leaf were exposed to 14CO2 in small cuvettes for 5 min before, during and after anthesis. The translocation velocity was followed by autoradiography and scintillation counting of the plants frozen and lyophilized at different times after labelling. The label was transported at the same velocity in all the treatments. Ozone induced changes in carbon allocation or partitioning should probably be explained as amounts of carbon transported (mg s−1), rather than as transportation velocity (mm s−1). The amount translocated may be governed by source conditions under O3 stress: reduced healthy green biomass and photosynthesis, but perhaps also by impairment of phloem loading because of membrane damage.