Summary
The effects of aluminium (Al3+) at concentrations of 0, 25, 50 and 100 μM on the growth of white clover, dependent upon N supplied as NO −3 , were examined in flowing solution culture. Plants were established with a normal nutrient supply for 7 weeks and then grown with carefully controlled pH (at 4.5) and P concentrations, and with 0, 25, 50 or 100 μM Al3+ for a further three weeks. There were rapid visual effects (i.e. symptoms of P deficiency and reduction in root extension) and the dry weights of shoots and roots were reduced at 50 and 100 μM. Less than 10% of Al absorbed from solution was transported to the shoots. The uptake of P, and its transport between roots and shoots, were reduced in plants grown with Al. The uptake of NO −3 stopped immediately after the introduction of 50 or 100 μM Al, and was significantly reduced at 25 μM after three weeks.
During a second phase of the experiment, plants previously grown at 0, 25, 50 and 100 μM Al, were grown for a further 2 weeks either with NO −3 (with and without 50 μM Al3+) or without NO −3 but with inoculation by Rhizobia (and with or without 50 μM Al3+). The effects of the previous treatments with Al on N uptake were small during the second phase, but uptake by all plants was restricted when Al was present. Inoculation did not result in nodulation in the second phase when Al3+ was present in the solution, but Al already in the plant from the first phase did not prevent nodulation in the absence of Al during the second phase.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams F 1981 Alleviating chemical toxicities: liming acid soils.In Modifying the Root Environment to Reduce Crop Stress. ASAE Monograph No 4, pp 269–301. ASAE, Michigan, USA.
Blamey F P C, Edwards D G and Asher C J 1983 Effects of aluminium, OH: Al and P: Al molar ratios, and ionic strength on soybean root elongation in solution culture. Soil Sci. 136, 197–207.
Carvalho M de, Edwards D G, Andrew C S and Asher C J 1981 Aluminium toxicity, nodulation and growth ofStylosanthes species. Agron. J. 73, 261–265.
Clarkson D T 1966 Effect of aluminium on uptake and metabolism of phosphorus by barley seedlings. Plant Physiol. 41, 165–172.
Clarkson D T 1967 Interactions between aluminium and phosphorus on root surfaces and cell wall material. Plant and Soil 27, 347–356.
Clement C R, Hopper M J, Canaway R J and Jones L H P 1974 A system for measuring the uptake of ions by plants from flowing solutions of controlled composition. J. Expt. Bot. 25, 81–99.
Cooper J E, Wood M and Holding A J 1983 The influence of soil acidity factors on rhizobia.In Temperate Legumes: Physiology, Genetics and Nodulation. Eds D G Jones and D R Davies. pp 319–335. Pitman, London.
Foy C D, Chaney R L and White M C 1978 The physiology of metal toxicity in plants. Annu Rev. Plant Physiol. 29, 511–566.
Foy C D and Fleming A L 1978 The physiology of plant tolerance to excess available aluminium and manganese in acid soils.In Crop Tolerance to Suboptimal Land Conditions. Ed. G A Jung pp 301–328. Amer. Soc. Agron. Madison, USA.
Franco A A and Munns D N 1982 Acidity and aluminium restraints on nodulation, nitrogen fixation, and growth ofPhaseolus vulgaris in solution culture. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 46, 296–301.
Helyar K R 1978 Effects of aluminium and manganese toxicities on legume growth.In Mineral Nutrition of Legumes in Tropical and Subtropical Soils. Eds. C S Andrew and E J Kamprath. pp 207–231. CSIRO, Melbourne, Australia.
Israel D W and Jackson W A 1978 The influence of nitrogen nutrition on ion uptake and translocation by leguminous plants.In Mineral Nutrition of Legumes in Tropical and Subtropical Soils. Eds. C S Andrew and E J Kamprath. pp 113–129. CSIRO, Melbourne, Australia.
Jarvis S C and Hatch D J 1985 Rates of hydrogen ion efflux by nodulated legumes grown in flowing solution culture with continuous pH monitoring and adjustment. Ann. Bot. 55, 41–51.
Jarvis S C and Hatch D J 1985 The effects of aluminium on the growth of white clover dependent upon fixation of atmospheric nitrogen. J. Expt. Bot. 36, 1075–1086.
McCormick L H and Borden F Y 1972 Phosphate fixation by aluminium in plant roots. Proc. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. 36, 799–802.
Murphy H E, Edwards D G and Asher C J 1984 Effects of aluminium on nodulation and early growth of four tropical pasture legumes. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 35, 663–673.
Nye P H 1981 Changes of pH across the rhizosphere induced by roots. Plant and Soil 61, 7–26.
Rasmussen H P 1968 Entry and distribution of aluminium inZea mays. Planta (Berlin) 81, 28–37.
Rorison I H 1985 Nitrogen source and the tolerance ofDeschampsia flexuosa, Holcus lanatus andBromus erectus to aluminium during seedling growth. J. Ecol. 73, 83–90.
Wood M, Cooper J E and Holding A J 1984 Soil acidity factors and nodulation ofTrifolium repens. Plant and Soil 78, 367–379.
Wood M, Cooper J E and Holding A J 1984 Aluminium toxicity and nodulation ofTrifolium repens. Plant and Soil 78, 381–391.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jarvis, S.C., Hatch, D.J. The effects of low concentrations of aluminium on the growth and uptake of nitrate-N by white clover. Plant Soil 95, 43–55 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02378851
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02378851