MOISTURE FLUCTUATIONS IN EXTRACTED PLANT SOLUTIONS AND IN LEAF TISSUE

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Abstract
Associated with studies of the quantities of certain mineral nutrient elements found in plant tissue solutions under varying conditions of nutrition and environment, data have been secured on the fluctuations of moisture in the same tissue. By means of the refractometer, seasonal fluctuations in the percentage of water in the extracted tissue solution were studied. The total moisture content of beet-leaf tissue has been studied and comparisons made between the content of blades, midribs, and petioles. The difference between the average moisture content of petioles and blades was found to be insignificant while midribs contained 3.0 per cent. more moisture than the remaining portion of the blade. A study of the total daily moisture fluctuations in the leaf tissue of Swiss chard and barley grown under glass were made. By withholding water from a portion of each crop maximum differences of 7.6 and 7.3 per cent., respectively, in moisture content was found with both crops when wilting conditions were obtained. Comparisons of soil moisture, evaporation from atmometers, and total moisture in leaf tissue were made with crops growing under field conditions. Evaporation, alone, showed evidence of correlation with moisture depression.