The Effect of Water Stress on the Movement of [14c]Sucrose and of Tritiated Water within the Supply Leaf of Young Bean Plants

When [140]sucrose was applied to one of the primary leaves of bean plants and the small application site subsequently removed, far higher amounts of alcohol-soluble 140 were detected in the leaves of plants under water stress than in controls. The effect could not be accounted for by translocation out of the leaf, nor by synthesis of sucrose,into non-alcohol-soluble compounds, nor by respiration. Increased movement of 140 out of the supply area in stressed leaves appeared to be responsible, and the mechanism of [140]sucrose transport within the leaf was therefore investigated.