Life Movements in Plants Part 18

There now remains the very interesting question as to whether the effect of long ether waves induce any variation of growth. The results given below show that growing plants not only perceive but respond to the stimulus of electric waves. The effects to be presently described are exhibited by all plants.

I shall, however, content myself in describing a typical experiment carried with the seedling of wheat. The specimen was mounted on the Balanced Crescograph, and the growth exactly balanced. This gives a horizontal record; an acceleration of growth above the normal is, in the following records, represented by a down curve, and a r.e.t.a.r.dation by an up-curve.

_Effect of feeble stimulus: Experiment 161._--I first studied the effect of feeble stimulus. This was secured by decreasing the energy of sparks of the radiator. The response was an acceleration of rate of growth as seen in figure 156a. The a.n.a.logy of this with the accelerating effect of sub-minimal intensity of light (p. 224) is very remarkable.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 156.--Record of responses to electric wave by the Balanced Crescograph (_a_) response to feeble stimulus by acceleration of growth, (_b_) response to strong stimulus by r.e.t.a.r.dation, (_c_) responses to medium stimulation--r.e.t.a.r.dation followed by recovery.

Down-curve represents acceleration, and up-curve r.e.t.a.r.dation of growth: (Seedling of wheat.)]

_Effect of strong stimulus: Experiment 162._--The maximum energy radiated by my transmitter, as stated before, was only moderate. In spite of this its effect on plants was exhibited in a very striking manner. The balance was immediately upset, indicating a r.e.t.a.r.dation of the rate of growth. The latent period, _i.e._, the interval between the incident wave and the response, was only a few seconds (Fig. 156b). The record given in the figure was obtained with the moderate magnification of 2,000 times only. But with my Magnetic Crescograph, the magnification can easily be raised ten million times; and the response of plant to the s.p.a.ce signalling can be exalted in the same proportion.

Under an intensity of stimulus slightly above the sub-minimal, the responses exhibit r.e.t.a.r.dation of growth followed by quick recovery, as seen in the series of records given in Fig. 156c.

A remarkable peculiarity in the response was noticed during the course of the experiments. Strong stimulation by ether waves gives rise, as we have seen, to a very marked r.e.t.a.r.dation of the rate of growth. Repeated stimulation induces fatigue, and temporary insensitiveness of the organ.

Under moderate fatigue the effect is a prolongation of the latent period. Thus in a particular experiment the plant failed to give any response to a short signal. But after an interval of five minutes a marked response occurred to the wireless stimulus that had been received previously. The plant had perceived the stimulus but on account of fatigue the latent period was prolonged, from the normal 5 seconds to as many minutes.

SUMMARY.

Plants not only perceive, but also respond to long ether waves employed in signalling through s.p.a.ce.

Mechanical response to wireless stimulation is exhibited by the leaf of _Mimosa pudica_.

All plants give electric response to the stimulus of long ether waves.

Growing plants exhibit response to electric waves by modification of rate of growth. Feeble stimulus induces an acceleration, while strong stimulus causes a r.e.t.a.r.dation of the rate of growth.

The perceptive range of the plant is far greater than ours; it not only perceives but responds to the different rays of the vast ethereal spectrum.

x.x.xIX.--GEOTROPISM

_By_

SIR J. C. BOSE.

No phenomenon of tropic movement appears so inexplicable as that of geotropism. There are two diametrically opposite effects induced by the same stimulus of gravity, in the root a movement downwards, and in the shoot a movement upwards. The seeming impossibility of explaining effects so divergent by the fundamental reaction of stimulus, has led to the a.s.sumption that the irritability of stem and root are of opposite character. I shall, however, be able to show that this a.s.sumption is unnecessary.

The difficulty of relating geotropic curvature to a definite reaction to stimulus is accentuated by the fact that the direction of the incident stimulus, and the side which responds effectively to it are not clearly understood; nor is it known, whether the reaction to this stimulus is a contraction, or its very opposite, an expansion.

Taking the simple case of a horizontally laid shoot, the geotropic up-curvature is evidently due to differential effect of the stimulus on upper and lower sides of the organ. The up-curvature may be explained by one or the other of two suppositions: (1) that the stimulus of gravity induces contraction of the upper side; or (2) that the fundamental reaction is not a contraction but an expansion and this of the lower side. The second of these two a.s.sumptions has found a more general acceptance.

Tropic curvatures in general are brought about by the differential effect of stimulus on two sides of the organ. Thus light falling on one side of a shoot induces local contraction, the rays being cut off from acting on the further side by the opacity of the intervening tissue. But there is no opaque screen to cut off the vertical lines of gravity,[29]

which enter the upper side of a horizontally laid shoot and leave it by the lower side. Though lines of force of gravity are transmitted without hindrance, yet a differential action is found to take place, for the upper side, where the lines of force enter, becomes concave, while the lower side where they emerge becomes convex. Why should there be this difference?

[29] I shall in what follows take the _direction_ of vertical lines of gravity as that of movement of falling bodies, from above towards the centre of the earth.

For the removal of various obscurities connected with geotropism it is therefore necessary to elucidate the following:

1. The sign of excitation is, as we found, a contraction and concomitant galvanometric negativity. Does gravitational stimulus, like stimulus in general, induce this excitatory reaction?

2. What is the effective direction of geotropic stimulus? In the case of light, we are able to trace the rays of light which is incident on the proximal side and measure the angle of inclination. In the case of gravity, the invisible lines of force enter by one side of the organ and leave by the other side. a.s.suming that the direction of stimulus is coincident with the vertical lines of gravity, is it the upper or the lower side of the organ that undergoes effective stimulation?

3. What is the law relating to the 'directive angle' and the resulting geotropic curvature? By the directive angle (sometimes referred to as the angle of inclination) is meant, as previously explained, the angle which direction of stimulus makes with the responding surface.

4. We have finally to investigate, whether the a.s.sumption of opposite irritabilities of the root and the shoot is at all justifiable. If not, we have to find the true explanation of the opposite curvatures exhibited by the two types of organs.

Of these the first three are inter-related. They will, however, be investigated separately; and each by more than one method of inquiry.

The results will be found to be in complete harmony with each other.

I propose in this and in the following chapters to carry out the investigations sketched above, employing two independent methods of enquiry, namely, of mechanical and of electrical response. I shall first describe the automatic method I have been able to devise, for an accurate and magnified record of geotropic movement and its time relations.

THE GEOTROPIC RECORDER.

The recorder shown in figure 157 is very convenient for study of geotropic movement. The apparatus is four-sided and it is thus possible to obtain four simultaneous records with different specimens under identical conditions. The recording levers are free from contact with the recording surface. By an appropriate clock-work mechanism, the levers are pressed for a fraction of a second against the recording surfaces. The successive dots in the record may, according to different requirements, be at intervals varying from 5 to 20 seconds. The records therefore not only give the characteristic curves of geotropic movements of different plants, but also their time durations. For high magnification, I employ an Oscillating Recorder, the short arm of the lever being 25 mm., and the long arm 250 mm., the magnification being a hundredfold; half that magnification is, however, sufficient for general purposes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 157.--The Quadruplex Geotropic Recorder.]

DETERMINATION OF THE CHARACTER OF GEOTROPIC REACTION.

The observed geotropic concavity of the upper side of a horizontally laid shoot may be due to excitatory _contraction_ of that side, or it may result from pa.s.sive yielding to the active responsive _expansion_ of the lower side. The crucial test of excitatory reaction under geotropic stimulus is furnished by investigations on geo-electric response. When a shoot is displaced from vertical to horizontal position, _the upper side of the organ is found to undergo an excitatory electric change of galvanometric negativity_ indicative of diminution of turgor and _contraction_. The electric change induced on the lower side is one of galvanometric positivity, which indicates an increase of turgor and expansion. The tropic effect of geotropic stimulus is thus similar to that of any other mode of stimulation, _i.e._, a contraction of the upper (which in the present case is the proximal) and expansion of the lower or the distal side. The vertical lines of gravity impinge on the upper side of the organ which undergoes effective stimulation.

In order to show that the concavity of the upper side is not due to the pa.s.sive yielding to the expansion of the lower half, I restrained the organ from any movement. I have explained that excitatory electric response is manifested even in the absence of mechanical expression of excitation; and under geotropic stimulus, the securely held shoot gave the response of galvanometric negativity of the upper side. Hence the fundamental reaction under geotropic stimulus is excitatory _contraction_ as under other modes of stimulation.

Finally, I employed the additional test of induced paralysis by application of intense cold. Excitatory physiological reaction is, as we know, abolished temporarily by the action of excessive cold.

_Experiment 163._--I obtained records of mechanical response to determine the side which undergoes excitation under geotropic stimulus, the method of discrimination being local paralysis induced by cold. I took the flower-scapes of _Amarayllis_ and of _Uriclis_, and holding them vertical applied fragments of ice on one of the two sides. I then laid the scape horizontal, first with cooled side below, the record showed that this did not affect the geotropic movement. But on cooling the upper side, the geotropic movement became arrested, and it was not till the plant had a.s.sumed the temperature of the surroundings that the geotropic movement became renewed. Figure 158 shows the effect of alternate application of cold, on the upper and lower sides of the organ.[30] In the shoot, therefore, it is the upper side of the organ that becomes effectively stimulated. Before proceeding further I shall make brief reference to the highly suggestive statolithic theory of gravi-perception.

[30] "Plant Response"--p. 505.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 158.--Effect of alternate application of cold on the upper and lower sides of the organ. Application of cold on upper side (down-pointing arrow) induces arrest of geotropic movement. Application below (up-pointing arrow) causes no arrest.]

THEORY OF STATOLITHS.

With regard to the perception of geotropic stimulus there can be no doubt that this must be due to the effect of weight of cell contents, whether of the sap itself, or of the heavy particles contained in the cells, exerting pressure on the sensitive plasma. The theory of statoliths advocated by Noll, Haberlandt and Nemec (in spite of certain difficulties which further work may remove) is the only rational explanation hitherto offered for gravi-perception. The sensitive plasma is the ectoplasm of the entire cell, and statoliths are relatively heavy bodies, such as crystals and starch grains. Haberlandt has found statoliths in the apo-geotropic organs like stems.[31] When the cell is laid horizontal, it is the lower tangential wall which has to support the greater weight, and thus undergo excitation. In the case of multicellular plants laid horizontally, the excitation on the upper side is, as we have seen, the more effective than on the lower side. This inequality, it has been suggested, is probably due to this difference that the statoliths on the upper side press on the inner tangential walls of the cells while those on the lower side rest on the outer tangential walls.

[31] Haberlandt--"Physiological Plant Anatomy"--p. 603.

When the organ is held erect, the action of statoliths would be symmetrical on the two sides. But when it is laid horizontal a complete rearrangement of the statoliths will take place, and the differential effects on the upper and lower sides will thus induce geotropic reaction. This _period of migration_ must necessarily be very short; but the reaction time, or the latent period, is found to be of considerable duration. "Even in rapidly reacting organs there is always an interval of about one to one and a half hours, before the horizontally placed organ shows a noticeable curvature, and this latent period may in other cases be extended to several hours."[32] This great difference between the _period of migration_ and the _latent period_ offers a serious difficulty in the acceptance of the theory of statoliths. But it may be urged that the latent period has. .h.i.therto been obtained by relatively crude methods, and I therefore undertook a fresh determination of its value by a sensitive and accurate means of record.

[32] Jost--_Ibid_, p. 437.

DETERMINATION OF THE LATENT PERIOD.