SODIUM AND CHLORIDE DISTRIBUTION IN SALT-STRESSED PRUNUS-SALICINA, A DECIDUOUS TREE SPECIES

Measurements were made over four growing seasons of the Na+ and Cl- content of leaves and woody tissues (twigs, branches, trunk and roots) of mature, fruit-bearing Prunus salicina Lindl. (on Marianna 2624 rootstock) trees irrigated during the growing season with water containing 3, 14 or 28 mM salt (2/1 molar ratio of NaCl and CaCl2). At the beginning of the study, the trees were 19 years old. Woody tissues of trees irrigated with water containing 14 or 28 mM salt accumulated Cl-, but not Na+ and Cl-. Leaves of trees irrigated with water containing 14 or 28 mM salt accumulated Cl-, but not Na+, unless they had visible symptoms of salt injury. X-Ray microanalysis of leaf mesophyll cells indicated some ability of the cells to sequester Cl- in the vacuole. The data demonstrate a capacity for ion compartmentation among tissues and cell organelles in mature Prunus salicina, which may explain the ability of the species to survive low levels of salinity for several years in the field.