| Abstract Detail
Economic Botany: Applied Plant Biology Ghosh, Nabarun [1], Saadeh, Constantine [2], Whiteside, Mandy [1], Smith, Don W. [3], Bennert , Jeff [4], Pridey, Kara [1]. Early flowering and a gradual shift in Aeroallergen Index affecting Allergic Rhinitis in Texas Panhandle. The analysis of aeroallergen indices for the last eight years revealed that the peak season for pollen has been shifting gradually. We determined the aeroallergen index regularly by analyzing and counting samples every 24 hours from the coated Melinex tape collected from the Burkard Volumetric Spore Trap and viewing with a BX-40 Olympus microscope with a DP-70 Digital Camera. There are reports of early flowering from different parts of the world. Early flowering shifted the seasonal allergy months and duration. We observed this peak from April to July in the year 2006. Most frequent pollen grains were short ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia), grasses (Poaceae), hairy sunflower (Helianthus hirsutus) and lamb’s quarters (Chenopodium album). We noticed a gradual shift in the aeroallergen index in the Texas Panhandle in recent years. The analysis of 8 years record reveals that the pollen indices were rather low from January to March in 2002-5 that increased to double in 2006-8. Global warming with increased CO2 concentration exerted widespread impacts on the biotic system. Many regions are currently experiencing warming effect associated with global climate change including longer growing seasons and early arrival of spring. Short ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) released 54.8% more pollen with an ambient CO2 release (Rogers et al, 2006). In Japan a 21-year study showed a gradual shift in Cryptomeria japonica pollen season. These results support the steadily increasing number of reports indicating a global warming trend. It is clearly evident that there were more patients suffering from allergic rhinitis during the months of March to June. 4 years back the peak pollen and mold season was between May to September (Ghosh et al., 2007,’08) that has gradually shifted in 2007 to March-June so as the frequency of the patients visiting the Allergy Clinic.
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Related Links:
Pollen Research
1 - West Texas A&M University, Department of Life Earth and Environmental Sciences, Canyon, Texas, 79016, USA
2 - Allergy A.R.T.S., 6842 Plum Creek Drive,, Amarillo, Texas, 79124
3 - University of North Texas, Biology, Denton, Texas, 76203
4 - Air Oasis, 3401 Airway Blvd. Amarillo, TX 79118
Keywords:
Aeroallergen
pollen.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 59
Location: 157/Law
Date: Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
Time: 10:45 AM
Number: 59003
Abstract ID:222 |
