Effects of heterogeneous Al and supply on root growth and screening of maize cultivars differing in Al resistance

  • L. Collet
  • W. J. Horst
Part of the Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences book series (DPSS, volume 92)

Abstract

Nine day-old seedlings of two maize (Zea mays L.) cultivars differing in Al resistance were exposed to a spatially varied Al (0, 10 μM) and P supply (1, 25 μM) for 4 days using a split-root system. Only in the roots exposed to Al did Al supply lead to a decrease in elongation, a reduction in dry matter production, and enhanced callose formation. The response to Al was independent of whether Al was applied to the entire or only half of the root system and of the P supply. A compensatory growth reaction was found for the Al-sensitive cultivar Lixis only in terms of root dry matter but not for the Al-resistant BR201M. The results indicate that assessment of Al resistance based on root elongation was not limited by an Al avoidance reaction.

Key words

aluminium avoidance compensatory growth maize split-root Zea mays 

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Copyright information

© Kluwer Academic Publishers 2001

Authors and Affiliations

  • L. Collet
    • 1
  • W. J. Horst
    • 1
  1. 1.Institute of Plant Nutrition, Department of HorticultureUniversity of HannoverHannoverGerman

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