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Response of Corn and Tomato Plants to Fluorine Concentration in Solution Culture
Author(s) -
BarYosef B.,
Rosenberg R.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1988.00021962008000020007x
Subject(s) - shoot , lycopersicon , elongation , dry matter , zea mays , horticulture , chemistry , solanaceae , agronomy , biology , biochemistry , materials science , gene , metallurgy , ultimate tensile strength
To understand and control the delicate balance between beneficial and detrimental contents of F in plants, the functional relationships between F concentration in ambient solutions and F uptake rate by plants must be known. The objectives of the present work were: (i) to study the effect of F solution concentration (C F ) on F content in plants and on the rate of dry matter production and root elongation in young corn ( Zea mays L.) and tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum L.) plants, and (ii) to define fluxes of F uptake versus C F in the two crops. The growth rate (GR) of corn and tomato plants decreased significantly as C F increased from 0.26 to 0.53 and from 0.05 to 0.26 mmol/L, respectively. The root elongation rate (RER) of corn 2 to 7 d old was maximum at C F = 0.26 mmol/L, and decreased when C F was raised to 2.63 mmol F/L. Tomato RER decreased when C F was increased from 0 to 0.53 mmol/L, and was unaffected when C F was raised further to 2.63 mmol/L. The threshold F shoot content at which the GR started to decline was about 12 mg F/kg in both crops. At any C F , F content in the roots exceeded that in the shoots by a factor that varied between 1.2 and 10. The maximal F content in shoots and roots of corn and tomato plants was 54 and 680, and 126 and 1310 mg F/kg, respectively, obtained at a C F of 2.63 mmol/L. The C F had no effect on N, P, and K contents in tomato, but had a suppressive effect on K content in the shoots of corn plants. At a C F between 0.05 and about 3 mmol F/L in the solution, the rate of F uptake per unit root weight (F F ) increased exponentially with C F in both test crops, indicating a diffusive F permeation into the roots. At a C F of about 3 mmol F/L, F F of tomato was nearly twice that of corn.