
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Box, Sally 
A1  - Schachtman, Daniel P. 
T1  - The effect of low concentrations of sodium on potassium uptake and growth of wheat
JF  - Functional Plant Biology
JO  - Functional Plant Biol.
Y1  - 2000
VL  - 27
IS  - 2
SP  - 175
EP  - 182
KW  - high-affinity, potassium, sodium, uptake, wheat.
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1071/PP99130 
N2  - Sodium is a beneficial mineral for some plant species when external concentrations are low. The role of Na+ in energising K+ acquisition in terrestrial plants has recently been suggested because of evidence demonstrating that wheat root cells express a high-affinity Na+-energised K+ symporter. To determine whether low concentrations of Na+ improve the K+ nutrition and growth of wheat, long-term growth and short-term tracer flux experiments were conducted. Long-term growth experiments were conducted over a range of K+ concentrations, at acidic and alkaline pH, with and without 500 &#181;M NaCl. Plant biomass and tissue Na+ and K+ content was measured. Short-term experi-ments were conducted using tracers to determine whether low concentrations of Na+ or K+ stimulate Rb+ or Na+ uptake, respectively. Sodium stimulated the growth of wheat only at low (20 &#181;M) external K+ in one of the long-term experiments, but not in two other experiments. Na+ did not stimulate Rb+ uptake, but K+ stimulated Na+ uptake in short-term tracer flux experiments. The results suggest that low concentrations of Na+ do not increase K+ uptake to a large extent, and only when light levels are low does Na+ have a beneficial effect on the growth of wheat. 
ER  -

