Mechanisms of aluminum tolerance intriticum aestivumL. (wheat) III. Long‐term pH changes induced in nutrient solutions by winter cultivars differing in tolerance to aluminum

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Abstract
Five winter cultivars of Triticum aestivum L., representing a known range of tolerance to aluminum (Al), were grown in nutrient solutions with and without Al for 41 days to determine long‐term changes in solution pH. Plant‐induced pH of the nutrient solutions declined for 16 to 17 days. Subsequently, the pH induced by Al‐sensitive plants grown without Al and Al‐tolerant plants grown with Al and without Al increased rapidly, presumably reflecting depletion of NH4 + from the nutrient solutions. Aluminum‐sensitive plants grown with Al showed a less pronounced pH rise after 16 to 17 days of treatment. After nutrient solutions were renewed on days 26 and 34, plant‐induced pH patterns were similar to those during days 1 to 26. However, the time required for the onset of the rapid rise in pH decreased. In these subsequent pH cycles, the pH patterns induced by Al‐tolerant plants grown with Al progressively approximated those induced by plants grown without Al. Aluminum‐sensitive plants grown with Al did not induce a rapid rise In pH of nutrient solutions. Differential tolerance to Al was apparent visually after three to five days growth. Cultivar tolerance to Al was correlated with the initial rate of the pH decline (days 1 to 26) as well as final pH of solutions discarded on days 26, 34, and 41. These results support the hypothesis that differential uptake of NH4 + and NO3 ‐ causes cultivar differences in plant‐induced pH of nutrient solutions and affects the relative growth of cultivars in Al‐toxic nutrient solutions.