INFLUENCE OF ALUMINUM ON THE UPTAKE OF VARIOUS CATIONS FROM A SOLUTION INTO CARROTS

The influence of Al on the absorption of Various elements by a carrot (U.S. harumakigosun) was investigated using a multitracer technique. A n uptake experiment was conducted within the range of 0.0-2.0 ppm AlCl 3 in culture solution. By the addition of AlCl3, uptake of elements su ch as Be, V, Zn and rare earth elements (REE) into roots was increased . For Be and V an approximately three-fold increase was observed. The degree of uptake enhancement of nonessential elements by AlCl3 was gen erally very high, whereas some of the essential or beneficial elements exhibited a decrease in uptake with the increase of AlCl3 concentrati on. This suggests that the uptake of nonessential elements might be in creased through transporters with decreased selectivity due to Al. Fro m the Viewpoint of the acid rain problem it is suggested that one of t he detrimental effects of Al on plants is the imbalanced elemental abs orption.