Involvement of Ethylene in Picloram-induced Leaf Movement Response

The relationship of root-applied 4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid (picloram) to ethylene production and the leaf movement response in honey mesquite (Prosopis juliflora [Swartz] DC. var. glandulosa [Torr.] Cockerell) and huisache (Acacia farnesiana [L.] Willd.) was studied in detail. The threshold and saturation levels of exogenous ethylene and root-applied picloram necessary to inhibit leaf movement were determined. Internal levels of ethylene in excess of those necessary to saturate the leaf movement inhibition response occurred in tops of treated plants before and after symptom expression. These internal levels of ethylene, while averages for the entire plant tops, probably occur at the specific site of action and thus account for the action of picloram in inhibition of leaf movement and related responses. Quantitative differences in the leaf movement response of both species to picloram and ethylene were observed. In huisache alone, a very small change in ethylene levels was necessary to produce a major blockage of the leaf movement response, suggesting that the gas may have a natural function in that species.