Agronomy Journal Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Published online 1 March 1973
Published in Agron J 65:219-222 (1973)
© 1973 American Society of Agronomy
677 S. Segoe Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Molz, F. J.
Right arrow Articles by Browning, V. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Molz, F. J.
Right arrow Articles by Browning, V. D.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Molz, F. J.
Right arrow Articles by Browning, V. D.

Radial Diffusion of Free Energy In Stem Phloem: An Experimental Study1

Fred J. Molz, Betty Klepper and V. Douglas Browning2

The rehydration of a water-stressed cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) stem was studied experimentally. The main objective of the experiments was to ascertain if a proposed diffusion theory can describe the dynamics of the rehydration process. Stem shrinkage was induced by allowing the soil-root system of potted cotton plants to dry by evapotranspiration. Tension in the xylem was then released suddenly by severing the stem under distilled, degassed water, with the subsequent increase in stem diameter monitored with an LVDT. From the basic data of stem diameter vs time, fractional uptake curves for free energy were computed and compared with predictions derived from theory. The comparisons indicate that the theory is applicable at least to first order. The overall study illustrates the intimate involvement of the xylem and phloem as far as radial water exchange is concerned.

Key Words: Cotton • Rehydration • Water potential • Stem diameter • Mathematical model • Deformation • Water stress

1 Joint contribution of Civil Engineering Department, Botany and Microbiology Department and ARS, USDA, Auburn University Agricultural and Engineering Experiment Stations, Auburn, Ala. 36830.

2 Respectively, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering; Assistant Professor, Department of Botany and Microbiology; and Agricultural Engineer, AKS, USDA, Auburn University.

Received for publication April 7, 1972.




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
The SCI Journals Crop Science Vadose Zone Journal
Journal of Natural Resources
and Life Sciences Education		 Soil Science Society of America Journal
Journal of Plant Registrations Journal of
Environmental Quality		 The Plant Genome
Copyright © 1973 by the American Society of Agronomy.