Summary
Open-ended paraffin-coated and uncoated pyrex glass tubes with diameters ranging from 1.3 to 4.0 mm were suspended in toxic solutions. Corn roots were inserted into the tubes and allowed to grow for twenty-three hours in the dark. The use of 3 me Li+/l as Li2SO4.H2O as the toxic growth solution resulted in a root growth difference between the glass and paraffin-coated tube that could be ascribed to the surface type. The growth difference was significant at the 5% level in the two smallest tubes.
The use of a higher growth temperature, greater transpiration by the seedlings and vibration appeared to implicate ordered water in the interfacial region between root and tube surface as affecting ion mobility.
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Journal Paper No. 3374 Purdue Univ. Agr. Exp. Sta. Lafayette, Indiana. Contribution from the Dept. of Agronomy. A part of the Doctorate thesis of E.A.
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Albregts, E., Ohlrogge, A.J. The role of tube diameter and surface characteristics in the tolerance of roots to toxic solutions. Plant Soil 33, 235–243 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01378213
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01378213