VIEW ARTICLE

Physiology and Biochemistry

Cadmium-Zinc Interrelationships in Tomato Plants. Gretchen C. Smith, Graduate student, Department of Plant Pathology, Cook College, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers University, New Brunswick 08903; Eileen G. Brennan, professor, Department of Plant Pathology, Cook College, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers University, New Brunswick 08903. Phytopathology 73:879-882. Accepted for publication 10 January 1983. Copyright 1983 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-73-879.

A possible interaction between various concentrations of cadmium and zinc was investigated in intact and split-root tomato plants in sand culture. The addition of cadmium to the substrate enhanced zinc uptake into tomato foliage, resulting in increased phytotoxicity. Zinc additions to the substrate did not affect cadmium uptake. There was no evidence that the elements acted competitively. Inasmuch as the enhancement effect was observed when Cd and Zn solutions were added separately to plants, the interaction must have occurred within rather than outside the plant. There was also reason to speculate that the uncontaminated root in split-root plants could continue to function normally.