Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 June 2017
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L. var. Trail) root growth was inhibited at lower concentrations of 1-(2-methylcyclohexyl)-3-phenylurea (siduron) than was shoot growth. The influence of siduron upon root metabolism was assessed with excised roots grown in 0 or 5 ppm siduron. More glucose-U-14C and leucine-U-14C were degraded to CO2 and less were incorporated into cell wall material and protein by roots grown in siduron. However, roots grown in siduron incorporated more adenine-8-14C into nucleic acids and degraded less adenine to CO2 than roots grown in water. It was suggested that siduron disrupted the normal nucleic acid metabolism of barley roots which was necessary for protein and cell wall synthesis.