Summary
Pinus radiata (D. Don) seedlings were grown in nutrient solutions in which phosphorus levels varied from deficient to adequate. In the first experiment, Al was substituted for Ca over the range 0 to 0.4 meq/l and P was applied at two low levels (1 and 3 μM/l). In the second experiment, Al was substituted for Mg over the range 0 to 0.35 meq/l and P was applied at three higher levels (8, 32 and 129 μM/l). Most seedlings developed P deficiency symptoms at the two lowest levels of P, and there was a significant response to P level terms of height and dry weight of seedlings. In contrast, there were no differences between dry weights of the seedlings growing in the higher P solutions but shoot height increased as solution P increased. Combined data indicated that P at 32.3 μM/l in solution was optimum for growth.
There was a relationship between shoot and root P at each P concentration. Phosphorus in the shoots and roots increased with increase in solution Al and there was a significant correlation between root P and root Al.
Aluminium levels in the shoots and roots were positively correlated. Aluminium in the shoots and roots increased with increase in solution Al but the concentrations were dependent on the level of P in solution. As solution P increased, the levels of Al in the roots increased while those in the shoots decreased. This phenomenon is related to precipitation of Al-P-hydroxy compounds in the root apoplast which would be facilitated by the net efflux of basic anions caused by the NO3-N source used in all the solutions.
The addition of 0.05 meq Al/l markedly reduced root tissue concentrations of Ca and Mg in both experiments while K absorption increased with increasing Al in solution.
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Truman, R.A., Humphreys, F.R. & Ryan, P.J. Effect of varying solution ratios of Al to Ca and Mg on the uptake of phosphorus byPinus radiata . Plant Soil 96, 109–123 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02375000
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02375000