JOfflAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Vol. V Washington, D. C, December 13, 191 5 No. 11 



TRANSLOCATION OF MINERAL CONSTITUENTS OF 

 SEEDS AND TUBERS OF CERTAIN PLANTS DURING 

 GROWTH . 



By G. Davis Buckner/ 

 Chemist, Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station 



INTRODUCTION 



Several years ago it was observed by Dr. J. H. Kastle, Director of the 

 Kentucky Experiment Station, that the morning-glory vine (Ipomoea 

 purptirea) after removal from the soil would continue to grow when 

 its roots were immersed in rain water. Often the growth of this vine 

 attained a length of several feet, bloomed, and produced seeds. During 

 this period the lower leaves etiolated, withered, and ultimately dried up. 

 Evidently the new growth attained by this plant under these conditions 

 was largdy at the expense of the various materials contained in the roots, 

 the lower part of the stem, and the lower leaves; especially was this true 

 of the mineral matter required by the new growth, inasmuch as no mineral 

 substance was supplied by the rain water. It therefore occurred to Dr. 

 Kastle that it would be of interest to determine the translocation of the 

 mineral matter in this vine under these conditions. Accordingly, a 

 number of morning-glory vines were completely removed from the soil in 

 which they had grown, and the soil was carefully washed from their roots, 

 which were placed in w^ide-mouth bottles containing distilled water, the 

 vines being trained on strings arranged vertically in a window. Under 

 these circumstances the vines were found to increase in length by several 

 feet. They put out new roots and a large number of new leaves and in 

 many instances bloomed and produced seeds. Unfortunately, with the 

 limited space at our disposal we were unable to secure a sufficient amount 

 of material to determine the translocation of the mineral substances of 

 the plants under these conditions, and it was found necessary to abandon 

 the experiment with the morning-glory for the time being. However, 



' The writer wishes to acknowledge the many valuable suggestions made by Dr. Kastle during the 

 progress of these experiments. 



Journal of Agricultural Research. Vol. V, No. ii 



Dept. of Agriculture. Washington, D. C. Dec 13 1915 



bf Ky.-; 



(449) 



