USE OF RADIOLABELED TRACERS IN HYDROPONICALLY GROWN PLANT FOODS TO STUDY MINERAL NUTRITION (KALE, SOYBEANS, BUSH BEANS)

Five experiments were conducted employing hydroponic culture of nutritionally significant plants in an attempt to radiolabel trace minerals and associated binding factors in the plants. Chromium-51 and (\u2765)Zn accumulation in kale, bush beans and soybeans was found to be influenced by level of application, time of exposure and presence or absence of either nuclide at certain exposure levels. Processing of the vegetables resulted in generally greater mineral losses during canning than freezing. The distribution of (\u2755)Fe in soybeans was not significantly altered when the iron was administered via the nutrient solution as (\u2755)FeCl(,3) or when chelated by (\u2714)C-EDTA. The (\u2714)C-EDTA was not transported to the shoots. In situ (\u2714)C labeling of phytate via myo-(U-(\u2714)C)-inositol infused into the pod locule was unsuccessful. A simple method for phytate analysis employing 0.1 g tissue samples was successfully developed