Summary
Following observations that ethylene can occur in anaerobic or partially anaerobic soils at concentrations which can affect plant growth, shoot and root growth of barley plants, maintained in solution culture, were examined after long-term exposure of the roots to ethylene in air; the subsequent growth on transfer to a similar but ethylene-free environment was also studied. Both root and shoot dry weights were reduced slightly by the ethylene treatment; seminal root extension was inhibited greatly while lateral root growth was stimulated; absorption of ions and their transport from root to shoot within the plant was not affected. On transfer to an ethylene free environment the extension rate of the seminal axes increased markedly and was the greater the shorter the period of the preceding ethylene treatment; the extension of laterals initiated during the ethylene treatment was stimulated greatly but the growth of those formed subsequently was inhibited.
Split root experiments showed that on any plant only those roots actually exposed to ethylene became modified by the gas while those remaining in an ethylene free environment were typical of roots of untreated plants. re]19740814
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Crossett, R.N., Campbell, D.J. The effects of ethylene in the root environment upon the development of barley. Plant Soil 42, 453–464 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00010020
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00010020