The use of nitrogen(N) fertilizers has contributed to the production of a food supply sufficient for both animals and humans despite some negative environmental impact.Sustaining food production by increasing N use efficiency in intensive cropping systems has become a major concern for scientists,environmental groups,and agricultural policymakers worldwide.In high-yielding maize systems the major method of N loss is nitrate leaching.In this review paper,the characteristic of nitrate movement in the soil,N uptake by maize as well as the regulation of root growth by soil N availability are discussed.We suggest that an ideotype root architecture for efficient N acquisition in maize should include(i) deeper roots with high activity that are able to uptake nitrate before it moves downward into deep soil;(ii) vigorous lateral root growth under high N input conditions so as to increase spatial N availability in the soil;and(iii) strong response of lateral root growth to localized nitrogen supply so as to utilize unevenly distributed nitrate especially under limited N conditions.
MI GuoHuaCHEN FanJunWU QiuPingLAI NingWeiYUAN LiXingZHANG FuSuo
Increased nitrogen (N) deposition will often lead to a decline in species richness in grassland ecosystems but the shifts in functional groups and plant traits are still poorly understood in China.A field experiment was conducted at Duolun,Inner Mongolia,China,to investigate the effects of N addition on a temperate steppe ecosystem.Six N levels (0,3,6,12,24,and 48 g N/(m 2 a)) were added as three applications per year from 2005 to 2010.Enhanced N deposition,even as little as 3 g N/(m 2 a) above ambient N deposition (1.2 g N/(m 2 a)),led to a decline in species richness of the whole community.Increasing N addition can significantly stimulate aboveground biomass of perennial bunchgrasses (PB) but decrease perennial forbs (PF),and induce a slight change in the biomass of shrubs and semi-shrubs (SS).The biomass of annuals (AS) and perennial rhizome grasses (PR) accounts for only a small part of the total biomass.Species richness of PF decreased significantly with increasing N addition rate but there was a little change in the other functional groups.PB,as the dominant functional group,has a relatively higher height than others.Differences in the response of each functional group to N addition have site-specific and species-specific characteristics.We initially infer that N enrichment stimulated the growth of PB,which further suppressed the growth of other functional groups.
根系形态和分布对土壤中养分和水分的吸收有重要影响。增加耐密性是现代玉米(Zea may L.)育种的主要方向,而耐密性与根系的关系尚了解不多。本文以70年代主推的2个不耐密型品种(中单2号与丹玉13)和2个当代耐密型现代品种(先玉335和郑单958)为材料,将田间试验和室内水培试验相结合,在3个密度水平下,研究了不同耐密性玉米品种的根系差异及其对种植密度的响应。结果表明,目前推广的耐密型品种的根系要小于不耐密的老品种。不同耐密性品种之间的差异主要表现在0—40 cm。随着密度的增加,根显著变小、变细。密度主要降低0—20 cm土层中的根系生长,对深层根系影响较小。先玉335和中单2的根系长度对密度的反应较弱,郑单958和丹玉13较强。这说明先玉335主要依靠其小根系适应高密度,而郑单958既依靠较小的根系,同时依靠较高的根系反应性适应高密度。
The concept of critical N concentration(N_c)has been widely used in agronomy as the basis for diagnosis of crop N status,and allows discrimination between field situations of sub-optimal and supra-optimal N supply.A critical N dilution curve of N_c=34.0W^(-0.37),where W is the aboveground biomass(Mg DM ha^(-1))and N_c the critical N concentration in aboveground dry matter(g kg^(-1)DM),was developed for spring maize in Europe.Our objectives were to validate whether this European critical N dilution curve was appropriate for summer maize production in the North China Plain(NCP)and to develop a critical N dilution curve especially for summer maize production in this region.In total 231 data points from 16 experiments were used to test the European critical N dilution curve.These observations showed that the European critical N dilution curve was unsuitable for summer maize in the NCP,especially at the early growth stage.From the data obtained,a critical N dilution curve for summer maize in the NCP was described by the equation of N_c=27.2W^(-0,27),when aboveground biomass was between 0.64 and 11.17 Mg DM ha^(-1).Based on this curve,more than 90%of the data for the N deficiency supply treatments had an N nutrition index(NNI)<1 and 92%of the data for the N excess supply treatments had an NNI>1.
Aerobic rice has the advantage of saving water. Most published work has focused on improving its yield, while few reported on its micronutrient status. In fact, Fe deficiency is a common nutritional problem in the production of aerobic rice. Short-term hydroponic culture experiments were conducted to study the response of aerobic rice to Fe deficiency and the effect of root exudates from Fe-deficient wheat on its Fe uptake ability. The results indicate that the amount of phytosiderophores (PS) released from aerobic rice did not increase under Fe deficient conditions. The Fe(Ⅲ) reducing capacity of Fe-deficient aerobic rice did not increase and the solution pH did not decrease significantly. What's more, no obvious swelling was observed in the root tips. Aerobic rice did not show special responses to improve their Fe nutrition under Fe deficiency as both strategy I and II plants though they were very sensitive to Fe deficiency. This may be a reason which causes Fe deficiency problem in aerobic rice. However, root exudates from Fe-deficient wheat (PSw) could improve its Fe nutrition in the presence of insoluble Fe(OH)3. This suggests that aerobic rice could utilize Fe activated by PSw.
SHI Rong-liHAO Hong-meiFAN Xiao-yunMd Rezaul KarimZHANG Fu-SUOZOU Chun-qin
Root growth has a fundamental role in nitrogen (N) use efficiency.Nevertheless,little is known about how modern breeding progress has affected root growth and its responses to N supply.The root and shoot growth of a core set of 11 representative Chinese maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids released between 1973 and 2009 were investigated under high N (4 mmol L?1,HN) and low N (0.04 mmol L?1,LN) levels in a solution culture system.Compared with LN,HN treatment decreased root dry weight (RDW),the root:shoot ratio (R/S),and the relative growth rate for root dry weight (RGRroot),but increased the total root length (TRL) and the total lateral root length (LRL).The total axial root length (ARL) per plant was reduced under HN,mostly in hybrids released before the 1990s.The number of seminal roots (SRN) was largely unaffected by different N levels.More recently released hybrids showed higher relative growth rates in the shoot under both HN and LN.However,the roots only showed increased RGR under HN treatment.Correspondingly,there was a positive linear relationship with the year of hybrid release for TRL,LRL and ARL under HN treatment.Together,these results suggest that while shoot growth of maize has improved,its root growth has only improved under high N conditions over the last 36 years of selective breeding in China.Improving root growth under LN conditions may be necessary to increase the N use efficiency of maize.
