The role of stable cesium on plant uptake of cesium-137

Studies were conducted to evaluate the role of stable cesium on plant uptake of cesium-137. Stable Cs applied to soil simultaneously with the /sup 137/Cs increased the uptake of /sup 137/Cs by bush bean plants by an order of magnitude. Stable Cs applied just after /sup 137/Cs had been applied was only half as effective in increasing uptake as was Cs mixed with the /sup 137/Cs before application. When bush beans were grown in pots of various sizes, plants in small pots contained much more manganese and less potassium in primary leaves and less /sup 137/Cs in all plant parts than did plants grown in large pots. Most Mn was in primary leaves. Three consecutive barley cuttings from the same pots resulted in less /sup 137/Cs and Cs in plants from small pots per unit of dry weight than from large pots and in less K, more Ca, and more /sup 137/Cs in the third crop. The first crop, besides being lowest in /sup 137/Cs, was also lowest in Ca, Mg, P, Mn, Cu, Zn, and Sr relative to the second and third crops. The correlation coefficient between /sup 137/Cs and Cs was +0.64, and it was -0.31 between /supmore » 137/Cs and K.« less