Rice Na absorption mediated by OsHKT2;1 affected Cs translocation from root to shoot under low K environments.

Cs diffused into the environment due to a nuclear power plant accident has caused serious problems for safe crop production. In plants, Cs is similar in its ionic form to K. Cs is absorbed and transported mainly by the K transport mechanism.

Reduction of Radiocesium in Internal- and Surface-Contaminated Komatsuna (Brassica rapa var. perviridis) during Washing and Processing.

Radiocesium dynamics data during food processing are required for the realistic estimation of internal radiation content in food. Radiocesium contamination of leafy vegetables can occur externally due to the adhesion of fallout and/or resuspension from the air, and internally from soil via the root transport. Information regarding the dynamics of both surface and internal radiocesium contamination during food processing is required; however, such information for leafy vegetables is limited compared to other major agricultural products.

Different nitrogen acquirement and utilization strategies might determine the ecological competition between ferns and angiosperms.

Background And Aims: The abundance or decline of fern populations in response to environmental change has been found to be largely dependent on specific physiological properties that distinguish ferns from angiosperms. Many studies have focused on water use efficiency and stomatal behaviours, but the effects of nutrition acquirement and utilization strategies on niche competition between ferns and flowering plants are rarely reported.

Methods: We collected 34 ferns and 42 angiosperms from the Botanic Garden of Hokkaido University for nitrogen (N), sulphur (S), NO3- and SO42- analysis.

The ratio of plant Cs to exchangeable Cs in soil is a crucial factor in explaining the variation in Cs transferability from soil to plant.

To mitigate radioactive cesium from soil to plant, increasing and maintaining the exchangeable potassium (ExK) level during growth is widely accepted after Tokyo Electric Company's Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant accident in Japan. This is because the antagonistic relationship between soil solution K and Cs + Cs (RCs) concentrations changes the transfer factor (TF: designated as the ratio of radioactivity of plant organ to soil) of RCs. As the relationship between ExK and TF depends on the soil types, crop species, and other environmental factors, the required amount of ExK should be set to a safe side.