Connection Between Structural Changes and Electrical Parameters of Pea Root Tissue Under Anoxia

The most immediate effect of anaerobic soil conditions on plants is a reduction in aerobic respiration in roots. Root cells switch to anaerobic respiration which is much less efficient than aerobic respiration. Under normal aerobic conditions 30 to 32 mol ATP are produced per hexose sugar by oxidative phosphorylation, citric acid cycle and glucolysis, whereas at anoxic conditions only 2 mol ATP per mol hexose sugar can be produced by glucolysis, which finally leads to nutrient deficiencies (Niki & Gladish, 2001). The principal end products of glycolysis are lactate and ethanol. Lactate production lowers the cytoplasmic pH and in flood-sensitive species, as pea the cytoplasmic acedosis causes cell death (Tuba & Csintalan, 1992).