The Uptake of Iron by Bean Plants as Influenced by Age, and Calcium and Bicarbonate Ions in Solution Cultures

Chlorosis of the foliage of higher plants has constituted a severe fertility problem in many areas of the world. It has been reported in no less than 30 countries. It has manifested itself in the western states and has usually been associated with a high CaCO3 content in the soil. The problem considered here will be limited to the effects of age, and of calcium and bicarbonate ions on the uptake of iron by plants, and on chlorophyll formation. It is the hope of the author to determine which of the ions in the soil are conducive to lime-induced chlorosis. Great Northern beans were selected as experimental material in view of their susceptiblity to typical lime-induced chlorosis. These beans were grown in solution