Effects of Ozone and Soil Salinity, Singly and in Combination, on Growth, Yield and Leaf Gas Exchange Rates of Two Bangladeshi Wheat Cultivars

In Bangladesh, increases in the tropospheric ozone ($O_3$) concentration and in soil salinization may lead to crop damage. To clarify the effects of $O_3$ and/or soil salinity on Bangladeshi wheat cultivars, BAW1059 (salt-tolerant) and Shatabdi (salt-sensitive) were exposed to 70-day treatments with $O_3$ (charcoal-filtered air (CF), $1.0{\times}O_3$, and $1.5{\times}O_3$) and different levels of soil salinity (0, 4, and $8dS\;m^{-1}$). In both cultivars, the whole-plant dry mass and grain yield were significantly reduced by exposure to $O_3$. Increased soil salinity caused significant reductions in whole-plant growth and yield in Shatabdi, but the reductions were negligible in BAW1059. No significant interactions between $O_3$ and salinity were detected for growth, yield, and leaf gas exchange parameters in both cultivars. We concluded that the effects of $O_3$ are not ameliorated by soil salinity in two Bangladeshi wheat cultivars, regardless of their salinity tolerance.