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Traits Driving Tolerance to Atmospheric Fluoride Pollution in Tree Crops

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Increased emissions of fluoride into the atmosphere contribute to reducing the sustainability of agricultural systems worldwide. In order to improve the understanding of the factors behind such phenomenon, varieties of citrus (Citrus spp.), Valencia sweet-orange, Ponkan mandarin, and Lisbon lemon and coffee (Coffea spp.), Obatã, Catuai, and Apoatã, were treated with fluoride nebulization. The trees were exposed to nebulization for 60 min inside a chamber by using medium (0.04 mol L−1) and high (0.16 mol L−1) doses of fluoridic acid (HF) during three nonconsecutive days in a single week, for a total of 26 days of exposure during the experiment. Sixty days after beginning nebulization, we evaluated leaf gas exchange, (ultra)structural organization, tree growth, and fluoride and nutrient concentrations in plant tissue. Photosynthesis and leaf dry mass of citrus and coffee varieties were affected differently by fluoride toxicity, and based on the tolerance index (relative leaf dry mass of control versus leaf dry mass of trees treated with 0.16 mol L−1 HF), the order of sensitivity for the varieties of each species was as follows: for citrus, lemon > mandarin > sweet-orange; and for coffee, Apoatã > Catuaí > Obatã. The ability of the trees to control fluoride absorption most likely explained this contrast in sensitivity among varieties because both photosynthesis and leaf growth were negatively correlated with leaf fluoride concentration. Although disorganization of the thylakoids, degeneration of vascular cells, and disruption of the middle lamella occurred in leaves of all varieties exposed to fluoride, the more severe damage was observed in those with greater sensitivity to the pollutant (i.e., lemon and Apoatã coffee). Taken together, these results provided insights into the factors that explain poor performance of citrus and coffee trees under fluoride pollution and also revealed the traits driving the tolerance of these crops such a limiting condition, which included a combination of the following: (i) reduced fluoride absorption, (ii) increased photosynthesis, and (iii) improved maintenance of the ultrastructural organization of leaves.

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Acknowledgments

This research was possible with support from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, Proc. 2008/52557-0 and 2008/09541-6). The authors also thank Dr. Oliveiro Guerreiro (Instituto Agronômico) for assisting on the selection of coffee varieties of interest for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil

    Geisa Lima Mesquita & Francisco A. Ossamo Tanaka

  2. Centro de Citricultura Sylvio Moreira, Instituto Agronômico (IAC), Cordeirópolis, SP, Brazil

    Dirceu Mattos Jr.

  3. Centro de Solos e Recursos Ambientais, Instituto Agronômico (IAC), Campinas, SP, Brazil

    Heitor Cantarella & Fernando C. Bachiega Zambrosi

  4. Centro de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento em Ecofisiologia e Biofísica (IAC), Campinas, Brazil

    Eduardo Caruso Machado

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  1. Geisa Lima Mesquita
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  2. Dirceu Mattos Jr.
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  3. Francisco A. Ossamo Tanaka
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Correspondence to Geisa Lima Mesquita.

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Mesquita, G.L., Mattos, D., Tanaka, F.A.O. et al. Traits Driving Tolerance to Atmospheric Fluoride Pollution in Tree Crops. Water Air Soil Pollut 227, 420 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-016-3115-5

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