Preliminary Experiments on the Effect of Temperature on the Movement of 14C-labelled Assimilates through the Phloem of Willow

Experiments were performed on both young shoots of willow (3–5weeks old) and mature stems which had been growing for a periodof 2–3 years. ¹⁴CO₂ was supplied to the leaves, and themass transport of the labelled assimilates through a portionof the stem enclosed in a temperature-controlled jacket wasmeasured by determining the slope of the rise in the activityof huneydew collected from a colony of the aphid Tuberolachnussalignus (Gmelin). It was found that there was a marked difference in the behaviourof the young shoots and mature stems. In the former, a fallin temperature slowed the transport, whilst in the latter acomparable fall in temperature increased the transport. Possiblecauses for these effects have been suggested, and the resultsare discussed in relation to published work on temperature effects.