Water Flow in Beta vulgaris Storage Tissue

The relative magnitudes of the hydraulic resistances, water capacities, and water potential equilibration time constants for the single cell, for the apoplast, and for the symplast in higher plant tissue are assessed. Swelling of beetroot (Beta vulgaris, var. ;Detroit Red') storage tissue sections in pure water is measured using a displacement transducer. This method of measurement avoids the difficulty of solute diffusion in the apoplast. Theoretical analysis of the experimental results shows that the main path of water flow into the tissue is the apoplast rather than the symplast, that the main resistance to water flow into the cells is usually the cell membrane rather than the apoplast, but that in some cases the apoplast resistance and water capacity can contribute significantly to the water potential equilibration time constant of the tissue.