Enhanced UV-B radiation: a problem for agriculture?

The emission of certain halogenated compounds has altered the chemical balance in the stratosphere. Thus and increasing amount of UV-B radiation reaches the earth's surface. UV-B is biologically active and is able to damage plants. Growth, flowering, biomass allocation, yield, food quality, and pathogen resistance of crop plants can be influenced by UV-B. In most experiments reviewed here an increase in UV-B led to unfavourable alterations. Reactions of plants varied between species and cultivars. However, some of the experiments used increases in UV-B intensity markedly above the values expected in the field. In these cases the relevance of the observed effects to agriculture remains doubtful. If necessary, the selection of UV-B tolerant cultivars may be a way to prevent losses