Volume 18, Issue 56 (9-2006)
Abstract
Manganese (Mn) is a micronutrient that is essential for plant growth and develop-ment. Meanwhile, an excess amount of Mn is one of the most important growth limiting factors in acid soils. The present study was undertaken to identify the effects of excessive Mn on the physiological aspects of tea plant. To this end, 2-year old rooted cuttings of tea (Camellia sinensis L. assamica × sinensis) were grown in a modified Hoagland solution with pH=4.2 for 1 month with aeration in green house, with temperature of 27 ± 3 ˚C and photosynthetic photon flux of 101.5 µmol. m-2 s-1 (400-700 nm) at the plant level. After emergence of new, white roots with 5 to 10 cm in length, the plants were treated for 1 week with excessive Mn to a final concentration of 0.9 mM. After 1 week, the white roots were harvested and frozen in liquid N2 and kept at -80 ˚C until used for determination of PO activity, lignin and sugar as well as chlorophyll content. The activities of soluble peroxidase (SPO), covalently wall-bound peroxidase (CPO) and lignin content decreased by Mn treatment. On the other hand, the activities of ionically wall-bound peroxidase (IPO), sugar and chlorophyll contents increased by Mn treatment. These results suggest that excessive Mn may have beneficial effects on tea plant via lowering lignin content and increasing extensibility of the walls.
