Different regulations on ferric reduction and acidification of the medium by roots of fe‐stressed plants in a ‘Rhizostat’

Abstract

Iron‐stressed and control bean plants were kept for several days in an apparatus in which the iron reducing capacity of the roots and the pH of the medium could be followed in a single plant without significant changes in its iron status ('Rhizostat'). With increasing iron stress the iron reducing capacity increased in a gradual way, whereas pH changes in the medium occurred in pulses. This suggests that iron reducing capacity and acidification of the medium, both stimulated by iron stress, are regulated in different ways.

Key words:

• Iron deficiency
• chlorosis
• ferric reduction