Salt tolerance of the reed plant Phragmites communis

Abstract

Reed plants (Phragmites communis Trinius) were grown at NaCl concentrations up to 500 mM and their growth, mineral contents and leaf blade osmotic potential were determined. Addition of NaCl up to 300 mM did not affect growth significantly. Sucrose, Cl‐and Na+ concentrations in the shoots increased with the salinity of the medium and the shoot water content decreased. K+ always contributed most to the leaf osmotic potential. Even in the presence of 250 mM NaCl in the rooting medium, the leaf blade contained only 50 mM Na+, suggesting that the plants have an efficient mechanism for Na+ exclusion. 22Na+ uptake experiments suggested that the retranslo‐cation of absorbed Na+ from shoots to the rooting medium lowered the uptake of Na+. Copyright © 1988, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved