Kinetics of cell formation and growth stresses in the secondary xylem of Swietenia mahagoni (L.) Jacq. and Khaya ivorensis A. Chev. (Meliaceae)

The kinetics of xylem formation in four-year-old plants of Swietenia mahagoni (L.) Jacq. and Khaya ivorensis A. Chev. were studied by means of high resolution laser measurements (accuracy: ±2 μm) in a spatial resolution of 18.7 to 94.1 μm and a temporal resolution of 1 to 60 s. The radial enlargement of the xylem cells was completed within 0.36 to 8.85 hours in Swietenia and within 0.52 to 12.03 hours in Khaya, while secondary wall formation and lignification lasted days to weeks. Cell enlargement of vessels and ray parenchyma was significantly faster than radial enlargement of fibres and axial parenchyma. The processes of formation of the secondary cell wall and the lignification were slower in fibres than in vessels and parenchyma cells. In Swietenia new secondary cell formation was induced in distinct growth periods almost simultaneously in the whole shoot, while in Khaya new cell formation was restricted to parts of the shoot. Growth stresses in the shoot were studied in terms of released strain. Higher growth stresses were observed in the shoot of Khaya compared to Swietenia. The results indicate that the higher growth stresses in the xylem of Khaya compared to Swietenia originate in the different kinetics of cell development of different cell types in combination with the heterogenous sequence of cell formation within the shoot. Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. W. Liese on the occasion of his 80th birthday.