Root flooding is damaging to the growth of crop plants such as soybean (Glycine max L.). Field flooding for 3 d often results in leaf chlorosis, defoliation, cessation of growth and plant death. These effects have been widely attributed solely to a lack of oxygen in the root-zone. However, an additional damaging factor may be CO(2), which attains levels of 30 % (v/v) of total dissolved gases. Accordingly, the effects of root-zone CO(2) on oxygen-deficient soybean plants were investigated in hydroponic culture. Soybean plants are shown to be very tolerant of excess water and anaerobiosis. No oxygen (100 % N(2) gas) and low oxygen (non-aerated) treatments for 14 d had no effect on soybean survival or leaf greenness, but plants became severely chlorotic and stunted when the roots were exposed to no oxygen together with CO(2) concentrations similar to those in flooded fields (equilibrium concentrations of 30 %). When root-zone CO(2) was increased to 50 %, a quarter of soybean plants died. Those plants that survived showed severe symptoms of chlorosis, necrosis and root death. In contrast, rice (Oryza sativa L.) plants were not affected by the combination of no oxygen and elevated root-zone CO(2.) A concentration of 50 % CO(2) did not affect rice plant survival or leaf colour. These results suggest that the high susceptibility of soybean to soil flooding, compared with that of rice, is an outcome of its greater sensitivity to CO(2).

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The interconversion of short-chain aliphatic alcohols, aldehydes and esters by apple fruit has been studied by gas-liquid chromatographic analysis of the products when substrates (mainly alcohols) were supplied as vapours to fruit slices at 20°C, and to whole fruit during storage at 3°C. In preliminary experiments with fruit from various sources after different periods of storage, cortical tissue slices formed corresponding aldehydes and acetate esters from alcohols; esterification was more rapid with higher alcohols. Esterification by peel tissue slices was more rapid initially but quickly declined. Metabolism was further investigated with a batch of apples during storage under different conditions. Both cortex and peel tissue were capable of acetylating butanol and 2-methyl propanol at all stages of maturity, from the pre-climacteric state at normal harvest time, when endogenous ester levels were low, through 58 days ripening at 12°C. The tissues showed constant hydrolytic activity towards butyl acetate throughout this period. Whole apples in air and 2% 0 2 at 3°C took up ethanol but formed little ethyl acetate and retained very little free ethanol. In both atmospheres whole apples metabolised approximately 40 % of added hexanol to hexyl acetate and up to 8% to hexanal. The low levels of esters in apples from low oxygen atmospheres (and the absence of esters in unripe apples) are, therefore, a consequence of low rates of alcohol synthesis.

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Ester synthesis by apples supplied with alcohols (C2-CS) and methyl esters of short chain fatty acids (C4-C8) was studied using gas chromatographic analysis of the products. The substrates were supplied as vapours to whole fruits stored in 2% O2 at 3°C. The alcohols were converted to the corresponding acetate ester; butanol, pentanol and hexanol were converted most rapidly. The methyl esters of short chain fatty acids (C,) were converted to esters with an alkyl group (Cn-2, Cn-4) confirming the presence in whole fruits of an active 0-oxidation pathway for fatty acids. Ester synthesis was stimulated when apples were supplied with methyl octanoate at different periods during long term storage in 2% 02. Treatment of the fruit immediately postharvest did not enhance ethylene synthesis.