Lead uptake from solution by perennial ryegrass and its transport from roots to shoots

Summary

The uptake of lead by roots and its transport to the shoots was examined with perennial ryegrass in solution cultures. Root uptake as measured by the decrease in concentration of lead in an aqueous solution containing 1 mg Pb/l as Pb (NO₃)₂ was rapid, almost complete, and unaffected by removing the shoots or killing the roots. Lead bound in the roots was not released by exchange with Ca or Ba ions. The distribution of lead within the plant was examined at intervals after a single, 3-day exposure to various levels of lead added to a nutrient solution. The total uptake, or lead burden, increased with increasing rates of addition and ranged from 281 to 9969 μg/Pb per 3 plants. The proportion of the lead reaching the shoots at the first harvest (7 days after adding lead) was 3.5 to 22.7 per cent of total uptake, the lower value being for plants with the greatest burden. Transport to the shoots continued throughout the experimental periods of 21 and 28 days but did not exceed 28.9 per cent of total uptake. The concentration of lead in shoots at the first harvest ranged from 0.2 to 58.4 ppm and that in the corresponding roots from 5.5 to 5310 ppm. At later harvests, and after cutting, the concentration in the shoots decreased; an exception was in plants with the greatest lead burden. It is concluded that roots of actively growing ryegrass provide a barrier which restricts the movement of lead to the above-ground parts of plants, and so to animals or man.