Phytotoxicity of hydrogen fluoride and fluoroborate and their uptake from solution culture by Lycopersicon esculentum and Avena sativa

The aims of this paper were to determine the phytoavailability and phytotoxicity of hydrogen fluoride (HF) and fluoroborate (BF(4)(-)) in solution when exposed to the root of the plant. As fluoroborate undergoes a slow hydrolysis to F and berate ions, the stability of BF(4)(-) under solution culture conditions was determined. Fluoroborate was found to have a zero order rate constant of 0.0136 and took approximately 72 days to hydrolyse completely. Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and oat (Avena sativa) plants were grown in dilute nutrient solutions which contained a range of activities of HF and BF(4)(-). Dry matter production of both tomato and oat plants grown in nutrient solutions were found to be restricted by increased activity of HF and BF(4)(-) in solution. Tomatoes were more sensitive to HF and BF(4)(-) than oats. Limitations to dry matter production coincided with increased uptake of F for F concentrations in tissue of both tomatoes and oats. Fluoride uptake of both HF and BF by tomatoes and oats was orders of magnitude higher compared to similar activities of other ionic species of F reported in previous studies. Possible mechanisms of uptake are discussed.