A KINETIC STUDY OF THE ABSORPTION OF ALKALI CATIONS BY BARLEY ROOTS

Abstract

The absorption of inorganic salts by plant roots and other biological systems depends upon metabolic processes. When absorption proceeds against a concentration gradient, an expenditure of metabolically derived energy is obviously required. In some systems, such as barley roots, even absorption along a concentration gradient is negligible under conditions of arrested metabolism; and the concentration of the salt in the sap fails to reach the level of the outside solution