Rate of dark respiration of oats at various levels of copper supply

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to determine the intensity of dark respiration of oat plants cv. 'Udycz Żółty' during their vegetation period. Plants were grown with addition of increasing doses of copper, applied at different stages of development. Up to heading of the control plants, copper-deficient plants showed low intensity of dark respiration as compared with the copper-sufficient plants. After heading, a strong increase in the rate of respiration in the former was noted. The high intensity of dark respiration in copper-deficient plants after heading was probably the result of ineffective utilization of assimilates in the absence of the panicle - the main acceptor of the photosynthesis products.