ISSN 2375-0723
African Journal of Food Science Research ISSN 2375-0723 Vol. 8 (5), pp. 001-007, May, 2020. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Gravitropism of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda ) radicles after chemical sterilization of seeds
Dexian He1 and David B. South2
1College of Agriculture, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, China;
2School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences and Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn University, AL 36849-5418, U.S.A. Tel: 334-844 1022, Fax:334 – 844 1084,
Accepted 10 April, 2020
Abstract
Certain types of chemicals can affect the gravitropism of roots. In a laboratory study, intact loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) radicles (emerged from H2O2- treated seeds) exhibited positive gravitropism 8 h after horizontal placement in sterile conditions. The growth angle decreased from almost horizontal (85°) to 21° within one week after treatment (90° is horizontal and 0° is vertical). When seeds were treated with HgCl2, radicles under sterile growing conditions expressed gravitropism 6.9 h after horizontal alignment. Growth angle changed from 91° to 64° over a 10-day period. Cubic and quadratic functions were used to model growth angle as a function of time. Under similar experimental conditions, radicles from HgCl2-treated seeds showed a greater degree of gravitropism than those from H2O2-treated seeds (as indicated by the growth angle). These results indicate that the gravitropism can occur in sterile environments and that the type of chemicals used to sterilize seeds might affect the rate of geotropic response.
Key words: Loblolly pine, radicle, geotropic growth, microorganism, H2O2, HgCl2, seed sterilization.