Some Observations on the Bleaching Effect of Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid on Green Barley Leaves

Abstract

Green barley leaves (Hordeum vulgaris) floated on the surface of 0.05 m ethylenediamine disodium tetraacetate, EDTA-2Na, pH 7.0 and exposed to light (5000 lux) at 25° exhibited a marked bleaching (EDTA-bleaching) visible to the naked eye and paralleled by a striking reduction in content of chlorophylls a and b. This loss of color did not occur in controls which were treated with H₂O instead of EDTA (water controls). In darkness the leaves in the water controls were bleached while EDTA-treated leaves retained all their color.