THE MOVEMENT OF PARAQUAT IN PLANTS

Summary. A qualitative study of the movement of the herbicide paraquat from droplets applied to leaves of tomato plants, using ¹⁴C-methyl-labelled and ¹⁴C-ring-labelled paraquat dichloride and di(methylsulphate), has shown that it moves in the xylem with the transpiration stream. The chemical is as well transported from young leaves as from mature ones, and will move through a steam-ringed petiole. The enhancement of the amount of paraquat transported from the treated leaves which occurs when treated plants are kept in darkness for a period following treatment and then exposed to light, is probably due to the greater movement into the xylem through undamaged tissue which can occur in the dark. Once the chemical has been absorbed into treated leaves, light-induced damage is required for significant movement through the rest of the plant to take place, but the damage then inhibits further entry of paraquat into the xylem. The movement of paraquat in broad bean and maize is essentially similar, though the enhancement of movement by a period of darkness after application is much less marked.
La migration du paraquat dans les plantes