Proceedings Of The First International Symposium On Genetic Aspects Of Plant Nutrition

The idea of addressing the problem of the genetic specificity of mineral nutrition at an international level arose four years ago in a proposal for this topic to be included in the program of the II Congress of the Federation of European Societies for Plant Physiology (FESPP) as a separate section. The Organising Committee of the II Congress of FESPP which was held in Santiago de Compostella in 1980 arranged a special session and it was clearly successful. A special scientific meeting where the genetic aspects of plant nutrition in their widest sense could be presented and discussed comprehensively appeared to be necessary and that is how this Symposium came to be organized by the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Much progress has already been achieved in this field, and bearing in mind the importance of this problem, particularly at the present moment, it is necessary for us both to acquaint ourselves with what has been achieved so far, and even more to direct attention and effort to the fundamental problems for the future.

This volume presents the proceedings of the Second International Sym posium on Genetic Aspects ofPlant Minerai Nutrition, held in Madison, Wisconsin in 1985. The mechanisms by which plants acquire, transport and utilize essential minerai nutrients are highly complex. The means by which plants either exclude or tolerate ions of metals toxic to plants are equally complex. The first symposium attempted to convene research scientists con cerned with minerai nutrition for the purpose of exploring the kinds of minerai nutrition phenomena identified as being under genetic contro!. The first symposium also placed much emphasis on research to which genetic intervention might be applied. At the second symposium more papers were presented on genetic and breeding research, a long-term objective of the first symposium. The second symposium also included biotic interactions under genetic con trol that either enhanced or impeded ion uptake, e.g. mycorrhizae and nitrogen fixing bacteria. This continuing dialogue is essential for a research area the complexity of which is due to its interdisciplinary nature.