Varietal Differences in Potassium Uptake by Barley

Potassium influx isotherms were obtained for 10 cultivars of barley using plants which had been grown with or without potassium (high K(+) and low K(+) plants, respectively), and the cultivars ranked with respect to K(m) or V(max) values for influx with a view to using these rankings as a predictive measure of long term performance under conditions of potassium-limited growth. Analyses of these rankings revealed significant differences between cultivars. Net uptake rates for low K(+) plants, determined over a 24-hour period, confirmed the differences between upper (Herta) and lower (Conquest) ranked cultivars, and established similar differences in the rates of translocation to the shoot. Efflux analyses showed no differences in potassium efflux from the cytoplasm or from the vacuole for these cultivars. Growth rate studies under different conditions of potassium limitation indicated, with some exceptions, strong positive correlations between ranks accorded cultivars on the basis of influx kinetics and those based upon growth rates.