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. 1973 Jun;51(6):1099–1101. doi: 10.1104/pp.51.6.1099

Effects of Potassium Deficiency on the Photosynthesis and Respiration of Leaves of Sugar Beet under Conditions of Low Sodium Supply 1

Norman Terry a, Albert Ulrich a
PMCID: PMC366413  PMID: 16658474

Abstract

Sugar beet plants (Beta vulgaris L. cv. F58-554H1) were germinated and cultured under standardized environmental conditions. The effects of K deficiency on photosynthetic and respiratory CO2 exchange rates of attached leaves were studied under conditions of low Na supply by withholding both Na and K from the culture medium at cut-off (28 days after planting). Potassium and Na concentrations in the leaf blade and petiole decreased rapidly during the 8 days after cut-off, then more slowly.

Photosynthetic CO2 uptake per unit leaf area decreased rapidly with time after cut-off to 23% of the control rate in 17 days. Mesophyll resistance to CO2 (rm) increased sharply after cut-off, rm eventually attaining 8.3 sec cm−1. Leaf (mainly stomatal) diffusion resistance, r1′, also increased rapidly from 4 days after cut-off, reaching 1.9 sec cm−1 13 days later. The photorespiratory evolution of CO2 into CO2-free air decreased progressively after cut-off, but the rate of dark respiratory CO2 evolution increased. It was concluded that withholding Na as well as K at cut-off increased the deleterious effects of K deficiency on photosynthesis and stomatal opening.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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