Three-day-old soybean seedlings were treated with acifluorfen via liquid culture [50 μM in dark, 1 μM in light (200 μE·m–2·s–1)]. Root elongation in the dark was inhibited only slightly (6%) after 96 h. In the light, acifluorfen inhibited root elongation after 48 h; after 96 h, inhibition was 32%. Hypocotyl length was not affected in either the light or dark. Soluble hydroxyphenolic content per axis was unaffected in the dark but was reduced by about 13 to 25% at 24 to 96 h in the light. Extractable phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, EC 4.3.1.5) activity per axis was unaltered by herbicide in the dark. A brief transient increase in PAL activity (4 to 24 h) in axes of light-grown seedlings in the presence of acifluorfen was followed by reduced enzyme levels compared to light-grown controls at 72 and 96 h. Although light is required for maximal herbicide action, there was no effect on anthocyanin or chlorophyll accumulation or on the chlorophyll a/b ratio in hypocotyls or light-grown seedlings.
