An Analysis to the Driving Forces for Water and Salt Absorption in Roots of Maize Seedlings Under Salt Stress

Abstract

When maize seedlings were subjected to salt stress, a decline in root xylem pressure was observed within seconds, followed by a gradual increase in Na + deposition in the seedlings. The magnitude of xylem pressure response was positively correlated with, but not proportional to the intensity of the stress. A continuous recording of the xylem pressure profile showed that self-regulation of the xylem pressure existed before and after the imposition of salt stress when the environmental conditions were relatively stable. The salt induced increase in xylem tension dominated the total water potential of the plant when the salt stress was mild, but the osmotic potential became more prominent when the NaCl concentration in the root bathing solution was raised to over 100 mol m −3. The average transpiration rate of the seedlings dropped by 40% when the NaCl concentration in the root ambient was increased to 150 mol m −3. Although salt stress resulted in the decline of both the xylem pressure potential and the osmotic potential in the root xylem, the changes in the total water potential of the root xylem solution were always smaller than the changes in the water (osmotic) potentials of the solution bathing the root. An analysis to the water relations of maize seedlings showed that not only the water potential components, but the radial reflection coefficient of the roots was also dependent on the level of salinity. When the NaCl level in the root bathing solution was raised from 25 to 150 mol m −3, the radial reflection coefficient of the root declined from 0.43 to 0.31. This small change resulted in a remarkable increase in the normalised relative NaCl absorption by 2.4 times, indicating that the radial reflection coefficient of root played a very important role in regulating the absorption of NaCl in maize seedlings under salt stress.