Adaptation of Barley Roots to Low Oxygen Supply and its Relation to Potassium and Sodium Uptake

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The uptake of Na+ and K+ by barley seedlings grown on aerated or non-aerated solutions was studied. Plants growing in culture solution took up K+ with high selectivity whether the solution was aerated or not. Roots of plants grown on aerated CaSO4 and transferred to a solution of KCl and NaCl had a lower preference for K+ than roots of plants grown on non-aerated CaSO4. Both kinds of low-salt roots were much less able to discriminate between K+ and Na+ than high-salt roots grown on a culture solution. The different levels of K+ selectivity are suggested to be related to H+ release from the tissue.