Effect of Tissue Infrastructure on Electric Conductance of Vegetable Stems

This study measures the electric conductance and examines the microscopic structure of bamboo shoots, sugarcane, lettuce stem, and mustard stem. The electric conductance readings vary from 0.09 S/m to 0.72 S/m across the stem, and from 0.19 S/m to 0.46 S/m along the stem. The electric conductance along the stem is higher than the electric conductance across the stem in bamboo shoots and sugarcane, while the reverse is true in lettuce stem and mustard stem. The orientation of vascular bundles and the shape of parenchyma cells are proposed to account for the different conductance readings from the same vegetable in different directions. The orientation of vascular bundles appear to influence electric conductance more than the shape of parenchyma cells when both factors are present in the same time.