Effect of four herbicides and two oils on leaf‐cell membrane permeability*†

Abstract

Summary:Leakage of electrolytes from leaf discs of treated Phaseolus Vulgaris L. plants was the main criterion used to study the effect of several chemicals on the permeability of leaf‐cell membranes. Paraquat, diquat, dinoseb and oxyfluorfen (2‐chloro‐1‐(3‐ethoxy‐4‐nitrophenoxy)‐4‐(Trifluoromethyl) benzene) increased leaf‐cell membrane permeability after exposure for 12 h or less. An‘aromatic’oil caused a large increase in permeability at 2–5 min after treatment. Increases in electrolyte release were also correlated with release of soluble amino acids from the leaf discs but the former method was the more sensitive. Increase in cell membrane permeability was always associated with injury symptoms such as appearance of necrotic areas in leaves. Chlorpropham, linuron, sodium azide, glyphosate and 2,4‐D at 10−3M, as well as 1% X‐77 surfactant and a non‐phytotoxic isoparaffinic oil did not alter leaf‐cell permeability at 12 h after treatment.Light was necessary for paraquat and oxyfluorfen to alter leaf cell permeability. Paraquat and oxyfluorfen caused a greater increase in leaf‐cell permeability of a soybean mutant with yellow leaves as compared with the normal green leaves. With oxyfluorfen this difference in permeability was greater than with paraquat, and was associated with the appearance of severe necrotic injury symptoms in the yellow mutant; paraquat caused no injury symptoms.