Effects of simulated acid rain on uptake,accumulation, and retention of fluoride in forage crops

Forage crops accumulate F from exposures to the air pollutant HF and the rate and amount taken up can be affected by a number of external factors, one of which is precipitation. To assess how precipitation, including acidic precipitation, alters F uptake and retention in forage, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. var. Saranac) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb. var. Kentucky 31) were subjected to extended exposures to HF and were treated periodically with various solutions (pH 5.6, 4.0, and 3.0) supplied as simulated rain or, for comparisons, as soil amendments. None of the treatments affected growth, but precipitation treatments significantly reduced the F content of both species relative to plants that received the same volumes of the same solutions added to the soil. Analyses of washed and unwashed foliage indicated that this loss of F was primarily due to the removal of F from foliar surfaces. There was no effect of pH of rain on the F content of tall fescue, but for alfalfa an increase in acidity from pH 4.0 to 3.0 resulted in a further decrease in the F content of foliage, suggesting that in addition to removing superficial F, the more acidic simulated rain resulted in the leaching of F from within foliage was well.