Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Measuring Fluxes of Mineral Nutrients and Toxicants in Plants with Radioactive Tracers
Published on: August 22, 2014
Sodium Stimulates Growth of Amaranthus tricolor L. Plants through Enhanced Nitrate Assimilation
1Plant Nutrition Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606, Japan.
Abstract:
Effects of Na application on the capacity of NO(3) (-) assimilation were studied in Na-deficient Amaranthus tricolor L. cv Tricolor plants. On day 30 after germination, Na-deficient A. tricolor plants received either 0.5 millimolar NaCl or KCl. The level of nitrate reductase activity doubled within 24 hours by the addition of Na and the enhanced level was maintained thereafter. When the plants were exposed to 2 millimolar (15)NO(3) (-), total (15)N taken up by the plants was greater in the Na-treated plants than in the K-treated plants within 24 hours of the Na treatment. Incorporation of (15)N into the 80% ethanol-insoluble nitrogen fraction of the Na-treated plants in the light period was about 260% of those of the K-treated plants indicating greater capacity of NO(3) (-) assimilation in the Na-treated plants. From these results, it was demonstrated that Na application to the Na-deficient A. tricolor plants promoted NO(3) (-) reduction and its subsequent assimilation into protein, resulting in growth enhancement.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Responses to Salt Stress
Key Elements for Plant Nutrition
2° Amines to N-Nitrosamines: Reaction with NaNO2
Inorganic Nitrogen Assimilation
Overview of Nitrogen Metabolism
The largest pool of nitrogen available in the terrestrial ecosystem is gaseous nitrogen (N2) from the air, but this nitrogen...
Plant Hormones

