Effect of Pot Size on Various Characteristics Related to Photosynthetic Matter Production in Soybean Plants

Despite the wide uses of potted plants, information on how pot size affects plant photosynthetic matter production is still considerably limited. This study investigated with soybean plants how transplantation into larger pots affects various characteristics related to photosynthetic matter producti...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Minobu Kasai, Keisuke Koide, Yuya Ichikawa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2012-01-01
Series:International Journal of Agronomy
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/751731
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849309240922996736
author Minobu Kasai
Keisuke Koide
Yuya Ichikawa
author_facet Minobu Kasai
Keisuke Koide
Yuya Ichikawa
author_sort Minobu Kasai
collection DOAJ
description Despite the wide uses of potted plants, information on how pot size affects plant photosynthetic matter production is still considerably limited. This study investigated with soybean plants how transplantation into larger pots affects various characteristics related to photosynthetic matter production. The transplantation was analyzed to increase leaf photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance without affecting significantly leaf intercellular CO2 concentration, implicating that the transplantation induced equal increases in the rate of CO2 diffusion via leaf stomata and the rate of CO2 fixation in leaf photosynthetic cells. Analyses of Rubisco activity and contents of a substrate (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP)) for Rubisco and total protein in leaf suggested that an increase in leaf Rubisco activity, which is likely to result from an increase in leaf Rubisco content, could contribute to the transplantation-induced increase in leaf photosynthetic rate. Analyses of leaf major photosynthetic carbohydrates and dry weights of source and sink organs revealed that transplantation increased plant sink capacity that uses leaf starch, inducing a decrease in leaf starch content and an increase in whole plant growth, particularly, growth of sink organs. Previously, in the same soybean species, it was demonstrated that negative correlation exists between leaf starch content and photosynthetic rate and that accumulation of starch in leaf decreases the rate of CO2 diffusion within leaf. Thus, it was suggested that the transplantation-induced increase in plant sink capacity decreasing leaf starch content could cause the transplantation-induced increase in leaf photosynthetic rate by inducing an increase in the rate of CO2 diffusion within leaf and thereby substantiating an increase in leaf Rubisco activity in vivo. It was therefore concluded that transplantation of soybean plants into larger pots attempted in this study increased the plant photosynthetic matter production by increasing mainly sink capacity that uses leaf starch for whole plant growth, particularly, growth of sink organs.
format Article
id doaj-art-18316022e4e54e65ab0370be56dd00a0
institution Kabale University
issn 1687-8159
1687-8167
language English
publishDate 2012-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series International Journal of Agronomy
spelling doaj-art-18316022e4e54e65ab0370be56dd00a02025-08-20T03:54:12ZengWileyInternational Journal of Agronomy1687-81591687-81672012-01-01201210.1155/2012/751731751731Effect of Pot Size on Various Characteristics Related to Photosynthetic Matter Production in Soybean PlantsMinobu Kasai0Keisuke Koide1Yuya Ichikawa2Department of Biology, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki 036-8561, JapanDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki 036-8561, JapanDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki 036-8561, JapanDespite the wide uses of potted plants, information on how pot size affects plant photosynthetic matter production is still considerably limited. This study investigated with soybean plants how transplantation into larger pots affects various characteristics related to photosynthetic matter production. The transplantation was analyzed to increase leaf photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance without affecting significantly leaf intercellular CO2 concentration, implicating that the transplantation induced equal increases in the rate of CO2 diffusion via leaf stomata and the rate of CO2 fixation in leaf photosynthetic cells. Analyses of Rubisco activity and contents of a substrate (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP)) for Rubisco and total protein in leaf suggested that an increase in leaf Rubisco activity, which is likely to result from an increase in leaf Rubisco content, could contribute to the transplantation-induced increase in leaf photosynthetic rate. Analyses of leaf major photosynthetic carbohydrates and dry weights of source and sink organs revealed that transplantation increased plant sink capacity that uses leaf starch, inducing a decrease in leaf starch content and an increase in whole plant growth, particularly, growth of sink organs. Previously, in the same soybean species, it was demonstrated that negative correlation exists between leaf starch content and photosynthetic rate and that accumulation of starch in leaf decreases the rate of CO2 diffusion within leaf. Thus, it was suggested that the transplantation-induced increase in plant sink capacity decreasing leaf starch content could cause the transplantation-induced increase in leaf photosynthetic rate by inducing an increase in the rate of CO2 diffusion within leaf and thereby substantiating an increase in leaf Rubisco activity in vivo. It was therefore concluded that transplantation of soybean plants into larger pots attempted in this study increased the plant photosynthetic matter production by increasing mainly sink capacity that uses leaf starch for whole plant growth, particularly, growth of sink organs.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/751731
spellingShingle Minobu Kasai
Keisuke Koide
Yuya Ichikawa
Effect of Pot Size on Various Characteristics Related to Photosynthetic Matter Production in Soybean Plants
International Journal of Agronomy
title Effect of Pot Size on Various Characteristics Related to Photosynthetic Matter Production in Soybean Plants
title_full Effect of Pot Size on Various Characteristics Related to Photosynthetic Matter Production in Soybean Plants
title_fullStr Effect of Pot Size on Various Characteristics Related to Photosynthetic Matter Production in Soybean Plants
title_full_unstemmed Effect of Pot Size on Various Characteristics Related to Photosynthetic Matter Production in Soybean Plants
title_short Effect of Pot Size on Various Characteristics Related to Photosynthetic Matter Production in Soybean Plants
title_sort effect of pot size on various characteristics related to photosynthetic matter production in soybean plants
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/751731
work_keys_str_mv AT minobukasai effectofpotsizeonvariouscharacteristicsrelatedtophotosyntheticmatterproductioninsoybeanplants
AT keisukekoide effectofpotsizeonvariouscharacteristicsrelatedtophotosyntheticmatterproductioninsoybeanplants
AT yuyaichikawa effectofpotsizeonvariouscharacteristicsrelatedtophotosyntheticmatterproductioninsoybeanplants