THE EFFECTS OF ELECTRIC-FIELD ON THE GROWTH OF INTACT SEEDLINGS AND COLEOPTILE SEGMENTS OF ZEA-MAYS L

The experiments were carried out with 96-h-old intact maize seedlings and 10 mm long coleoptile segments cut 4 mm below the tip. The electri c fields were applied longitudinally along the seedlings. The electric field (15 V) caused inhibition of the elongation growth of intact see dlings which was dependent on both the polarity and the duration of th e applied voltage. The growth inhibition was greater when the tip of t he shoot was positive relative to the roots. The electric field also c aused inhibition of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and fusicoccin (FC) ind uced growth of maize coleoptile segments excised from electrically tre ated seedlings. IAA-induced growth of coleoptile segments was greater when the tip of the shoot was negative to the roots (not in the case o f FC-treated segments and intact seedlings). It was suggested that apa rt from the changes induced by electric field in transport system of a uxin the electric field affected also the activity of plasmalemma prot on pump.