Root‐Soil Boundary Zones as Seen in the Electron Microscope

Abstract

AbstractPlants were grown in bentonite clay and in permutite sand. After a suitable period, all void spaces were filled with liquid resin monomer which hardened to a stone‐like mass. Thin sections, a few hundred Angstrom units thick, were cut and observed in the electron microscope. The root is surounded by mucigel which fills the space between cell wall and mineral soil particles. Often it contains colonies of microbes. Contact between mucigel and clay surface is intimate. Colloid chemical interpretations are presented.