Effects of Abscisic Acid and of Hydrostatic Pressure Gradient on Water Movement through Excised Sunflower Roots

Abstract

The effect of abscisic acid on the exudation rate from decapitated roots of sunflower plants (Helianthus annuus L.) was investigated in the presence and absence of an imposed hydrostatic pressure gradient. The magnitude of the abscisic acid effect was constant even when suctions up to 60 cm Hg were applied to the cut stumps.

When roots were bathed in a THO-labeled nutrient solution, the course of the appearance of radioactivity in the exudate, expressed as a function of exudate volume, was not affected by abscisic acid treatment but was strongly speeded up by applying suction.

The implications of those findings with regard to the water pathway through the root and the location of the abscisic acid effect are discussed.