A rapid and safe method of estimating nanomole quantities of P, K+, Na+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ in plant material by perchloric acid digestion.
A method for the determination of nanomole amounts of P and major cations in samples of dried plant tissue is described. Samples weighing 2-7 mg were digested by refluxing tissue in a mixture of perchloric and nitric acids, under conditions which minimized the hazards associated with perchloric acid digestion. In most tissues analyzed, reproducibility between triplicate samples was less than +/- 5%. However, where the amount of P in the tissue was very low (samples contained about 50 nmol P each), the variation between triplicates was greater.