Aluminum ions are regarded as the main toxic factor in mineral acid soils of pH below 5.0 (9). Plants differ in their reaction to Al toxicity, and variability was found between plant species as well as between cultivars of cultivated plants (1,7,10). The plant reaction to Al was found to be genetically controlled (5, 23).Studies have concentrated mainly on the mechanisms of Al toxicity, especially on the inhibitory effect of Al on root elongation. According to Matsumoto et al. (17) binding to nuclear DNA is a primary effect of Al in the plant cell. However, it is not certain whether disturbances of the uptake, transport, and utilization of mineral nutrients (6, 9) or the effect on oxidation processes (13) were added at concentrations of 2.5 uCi/ml (4 ,ug/ml) and 10 ,uCi/ml (10 Ag/ml), respectively, to the nutrient solution and seedlings were incubated in this medium for 24 h at 250C, the 551 www.plantphysiol.org on May 12, 2018 -Published by Downloaded from