ICSE Class 9 Answered

Plants are affected by air pollution in the following ways:

• Nitrogen dioxide leads to the premature falling of leaves. It also affects the growth of plants which result in low crop yields.

• Ozone enters the leaves of the plants through stomata. It then gets dissolved with water within the plant and reacts with other chemicals damaging its leaves. Plants weakened by ozone may become more susceptible to various diseases, pests and droughts.

• Peroxyacetyl Nitrate causes premature falling and discolouring of leafy vegetables.

• Sulphur dioxide has a bleaching affect on plants. It results in the loss of chlorophyll. Many leafy vegetables become yellow in colour due to the effect of this gas.