Zastosowanie metody filmowej do badań kinetyki grawitropicznej pędów w zmienionych warunkach grawimorficznych

White willow (Salix alba L.) dormant shoots were collected in March and cut into 30 cm segments. The basal ends were placed in containers with sand and kept in dispersed sunlight and the halogen light after dark. To induce the gravimorphic reaction the segments were oriented at the angle of 30 degrees with respect to horizontal line (stage I). After two weeks of culture the segments were turned at the angle of 150 degrees in such a way that the segments were in horizontal position and the newly formed lateral shoots were oriented according to the gravity vector (fig. 1). They were kept in such position for another 2 weeks (stage II). The growth kinetics of newly formed shoots was studied using time lapse technique. It was found that during stage I the most intensive development of lateral buds growth occurred on the upper side at apical part of the shoot segment. During stage II, the newly formed shoots started to reorient opposite to the gravity vector. The latateral shoots close to the apical end responded faster as compared to the shoots located at farther distances. The site of gravitropic response during 2−week−long experiment was moving and located always below apical part of the lateral shoot in the non−lignified zone. Microscopic observations of the newly formed lateral shoots revealed formation of secondary xylem typical for willow and in some regions the structure newly formed xylem was similar to that of tension wood. The possibility of application of 3D digital Image Correlation method for the studies of growth trajectory was tested in the preliminary experiment performed on the seedlings of Cucumis sativus (fig. 2). The preliminary results (fig. 3) indicate that the method could be applied also for the of growth trajectory of woody plants.