Differential Performance of Two Barley Varieties to Varying Aluminum Concentrations

Abstract

In a greenhouse experiment, yields of Charlottetown 80 and Herta barley decreased with increasing rates of aluminum applied to a Caribou loam soil. The decline in yield was greater with the Herta variety. At the same time, this variety did not exhibit symptoms of aluminum toxicity as had been encountered on the same soil m field trials.A nutrient solution experiment established that Charlottetown 80 and Herta possessed a differential tolerance to aluminum and indicated that regional barley production problems were due to high concentrations of this element. Typical aluminum toxicity symptoms were encountered which appeared at lower aluminum concentrations in the Herta variety. Top and root yields of both varieties declined with increasing aluminum treatment but the effect was more pronounced with Herta.Phosphorus and calcium decreased in the tops and increased in the roots with increasing aluminum concentration. The effect was greater in Herta at intermediate aluminum concentrations than in Charlottetown 80. It was concluded that aluminium depressed the translocation of these elements within the plant rather than their adsorption by the roots.

Role of water stress in differential aluminum tolerance of two barley cultivars grown in an acid soil

“…Water stress (2,3,4,19,21,25,26,38) and aluminum toxicity (1,5,6,8,16,18,20,28,29,30,31,32) impose major constraints to plant growth in many parts of the world. Aluminum stress effects are particularly serious in sub-surface soils that have a pH below 5.5 and are difficult to lime.…”

The effects of lime and phosphorus on the function of wheat roots in acid top soils and subsoils

“…Ultrastructural studies (Bennet et al, 1985;1986) show that the primary sites of A1 uptake are the peripheral cells of the root cap and mucilagenous secretions around the root. The A1 interferes with the uptake of Ca and Mg and the transport of P and K. Tolerance seems to be associated with decreased uptake of AI and decreased translocation to the tops (McLean and Chaisson, 1966;Foy, 1974;Miranda, 1985). Phosphorus is held in the roots when toxic levels of AI occur possibly as an aluminium phosphate precipitate (McGormick and Borden, 1974), and Rios and Pearson (1964) showed that P could move in roots to a growing point where A1 is limiting growth.…”

A Method for Determining Aluminum Response of Barley in Nutrient Solution in Comparison to Response in Al‐Toxic Soil1

“…The solution method has proved very satisfactory for determining varietal response of Al, and we have used this procedure for studying the inheritance of AI, response in barley (7). With some modifications, it can be adapted to other crops, 5 and may prove useful for testing the response of crop plants to other chemical factors.…”