The effect of flow turbulence on plant growth and several growth regulators in Egeria densa Planchon

The effects of turbulence velocity on Egeria densa Planchon was studied for 12 weeks using mechanically oscillating grid-generated turbulence without mean flow. The root-mean-square of the turbulence velocity fluctuations (u') ranged from 1.62 +/- 0.44 to 2.86 +/- 0.8 cm s(-1) (high turbulence), 1.36 +/- 0.2 to 1.86 +/- 0.78 cm s(-1) (medium turbulence) and 0.67 +/- 0.12 to 0.81 +/- 0.16 cm s(-1) (low turbulence). The control was subjected to gentle manual mixing once a day. Shoot elongation was significantly reduced with increasing turbulence intensity, and the endogenous indole acetic acid (IAA) concentration was significantly decreased with increasing turbulence intensity and exposure time. The plants exposed to high turbulence showed a 64.6% decrease in endogenous IAA concentration compared to the control, while it was decreased only 26.9% in plants exposed to low turbulence. IAA and cytokinin catabolism was increased, and there was an increase in the hydrogen peroxide concentration of the tissues, which triggered peroxidase activity. The total chlorophyll and chlorophyll a content decreased with the time of exposure. Although the flow turbulence negatively affected plant growth and metabolism, all of the plants survived for the experimental period. (C) 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.