Diagnosis of the Nitrogen Status in Crops PDF
Preview Diagnosis of the Nitrogen Status in Crops
Diagnosis of the Nitrogen Status in Crops Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York Barcelona Budapest Hong Kong London Milan Paris Santa Clara Singapore Tokyo Gilles Lemaire (Ed.) Diagnosis of the Nitrogen Status in Crops With 119 Figures and 17 Tables t Springer Dr. GILLES LEMAIRE INRA Station d'Ecophysiologie des Plantes Fourrageres 86600 Lusignan France ISBN -13: 978-3-642-64506-8 e-ISBN -13: 978-3-642-60684-7 DOl: 10.1007/978-3-642-60684-7 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. Diagnosis of the nitrogen status in crops/Gilles Lemaire (ed.). p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. 1. Nitrogen fertilizers. 2. Crops and nitrogen. 3. Plants. Effect of nitrogen on. I. Lemaire, Gilles. 1945- . S651.D53 1997 631.8'4 - DC21 96-52379 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broad casting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer-Verlag. Violations are liable for prosecution under the German Copyright Law. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1997 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1997 The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Cover design: Design & Production GmbH, Heidelberg Typesetting: Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong SPIN: 10501692 3113137/SPS - 5 4 3 2 1 0 - Printed on acid-free paper Foreword This volume introduces a new concept in plant nutrition and demon strates how it can be applied in practice to improve N nutrition of crops. The importance of the topic is well illustrated by the fact that yields of man's main food, cereals, have increased, in many countries, roughly in proportion to average rates of N -fertilizer application. Yet much of this nitrogen does not enter the crops but is converted to nitrate, thus polluting the environment. Of course, in addition to fertil izers, biological nitrogen fixation and organic manures supply much nitrogen, however, regardless of the source, there is a need to match supply with crop demand. Crop demand is the product of plant mass multiplied by critical NO/O (the minimum needed for maximum growth rate); the value of which usually declines with increasing plant mass. Much effort in the past was devoted to measuring critical N%. However, no set of values seems to have gained widespread acceptance, possibly because of di vergence between results of different workers. Even so, important and widely applicable conclusions are emerging. One is the discovery, made independently in Lusignan and in Wellesbourne, of a remarkable similarity in the way the critical NO/O of some quite different crops declines with increase in plant mass per unit area. Others include the influence on the critical N% of the relative proportions of structural and metabolic tissues, of light intensity and its attenuation down the canopy, and of the formation of storage tissues. The authors have integrated this information into a comprehensive theory for the decline in critical NO/O as crops grow. The theory is consistent with the near proportional relationships that are often obtained between relative growth rate and NO/O in the plant dry matter and, even more notably, with the 3/2 self-thinning rule for plant populations in plant ecology. A great merit of the theory is that it is encapsulated in a simple equation with two easily measurable coefficients. It has been extended to provide a nitrogen nutrition index that can be used to assess the nitrogen status of crop in terms of its NO/O and critical NO/O calculated from the equation and plant mass per unit area. Failure to take proper account of plant mass per unit area has, in the past, led to much misinterpretation of field experimental data VI Foreword obtained in both temperate and tropical climates. Numerous examples are given of how reinterpretation of the data using the nitrogen nutri tion index has led to discoveries. They cover disparate topics, includ ing breeding of high-N lucerne cultivars, discriminating between the direct effects of plant water stress on growth and the indirect effects associated with reducing the N supply to roots, and elucidating the causes of differences in performance between mixed populations and monocultures of herbage. The studies were made at the field level and thus should lead rapidly to improvements in commercial practice. The research can also be immediately applied to optimize the use of fertilizers. For instance, it provides relationships between critical NO/O and plant mass that can be incorporated directly into computer models that calculate the day-to-day changes in N response. As such models are now being used commercially by consultants, advisers and farmers, they could have a substantial impact on arable agriculture. Nevertheless, it is true that the decision-making process on fertilizer use on farms is complex and it is not clear how fertilizer practice will develop in the future. Inclusion of a discussion of this topic is a very welcome feature of the book, especially as it seldom gets the attention it deserves. Existing methods for predicting fertilizer requirements and, indeed, future possibilities, including those involving noninvasive radiometry, are also disscussed. The value of the nitrogen nutrition index is discussed in the light of this information and it is clear that it could be used in several different ways to improve N -fertilizer practice. The book will be of great interest to all concerned with the funda mental aspects of plant nutrition as well as to agriculturalists, horticul turists and ecologists. H.R.1. Welles bourne, UK Prof. D.J. GREENWOOD Contents Part I On the Critical N Concentration in Agricultural Crops 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 N Uptake and Distribution in Plant Canopies Go LEMAIRE and Fo GASTAL 3 000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 000 2 Use of the Nitrogen Nutrition Index for the Analysis of Agronomical Data Go LEMAIRE and JoMo MEYNARD 45 00000000000000000000000 Part II The Nitrogen Requirement of Major Agricultural Crops 57 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 Grasslands Mo DURU, Go LEMAIRE, and Po CRUZ 59 4 Wheat, Barley, and Durum Wheat Eo JUSTES, MoHo JEUFFROY, and B. MARY 73 5 Maize and Sorghum Do PLENET and Po CRUZ 93 6 Grain Legumes B. NEY, To DORE, and Mo SAGAN 107 7 Potatoes To DUCHENNE, JoMo MACHET, and Mo MARTIN 119 8 Mixed Crops Po CRUZ and JoFo So us SANA 131 Part III Management ofN Nutrition 145 0000000000000000000000 9 Nitrogen Diagnosis and Decision Support JoMo MEYNARD, Co AUBRY, Eo JUSTES, and Mo LE BAIL 147 VIII Contents 10 Diagnosis Using Stem Base Extract: JUBIL Method E. JUSTES, J.M. MEYNARD, B. MARY, and D. PLENET 163 11 Leaf N Content as an Indicator of Crop N Nutrition Status G. LEMAIRE, D. PLENET, and D. GRIND LAY 189 12 Radiometric Estimates of Nitrogen Status of Leaves and Canopies F. BARET and TH. FOURTY ............................ 201 13 Concluding Remarks: N Hazards to Crops and Environment B. MARy ........................................... 229 Subject Index ......................................... 237 List of Contributors AUBRY, C. INRA-INA PG Unite de Recherche sur les Systemes Agraires et la Developpement, 78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France BARET, F. INRA Station de Bioclimatologie, Domaine Saint Paul, Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon Cedex 9, France CRUZ, P. INRA Station d'A gronomie, BP 27, 31326 Castanet-Tolosan Cedex, France DORE, T. INRA-INA PG Laboratoire d' Agronomie, 78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France DUCHENNE, T. Agro-Transfert, Domaine de Brunehaut, 80200 Estrees-Mons, France DURU, M. INRA Station d'Agronomie, Auzeville BP 27, 31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France FOURTY, TH. INRA Station de Bioclimatologie Domaine Saint Paul, Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon Cedex 9, France GAS TAL, F. INRA Station d'Ecophysiologie des Plantes Fourrageres, 86600 Lusignan, France GRINDLAY, D. INRA Station d'Ecophysiologie des Plantes Fourrageres, 86600 Lusignan, France X List of Contributors JEUFFROY, M.H. lNRA-lNA PG Laboratoire d'Agronomie, 78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France JUSTES, E. lNRA Unite d'Agronomie Centre de Recherche Agronomique 2 Esplanade Roland Garros, BP 224,51686 Reims Cedex 2, France LE BAIL, M. lNRA-lNA PG Unite de Recherche sur les Systemes Agraires et la Developpement, 78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France LEMAIRE, G. lNRA Station d'Ecophysiologie des Plantes Fourrageres, 86600 Lusignan, France MACHET, J.M. lNRA Station d' Agronomie, rue Fernand Christ, 02007 Laon Cedex, France MARTIN,M. lTCF-lTPT, Domaine de Brunehaut, 80200 Estrees-Mons, France MARY, B. lNRA Unite d' Agronomie, rue Fernand Christ, 02007 Laon Cedex, France MEYNARD, J.M. lNRA-lNA PG Station d'Agronomie, 78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France NEY, B. lNRA-lNA PG Laboratoire d'Agronomie, 78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France PLENET, D. lNRA Unite d'Agronomie, 71, avo Edouard Bourleaux, BP 81, 33883 Villenave D'Ornon Cedex, France SAGAN, M. lNRA Station de Genetique et Amelioration des Plantes, Domaine d'Epoisses, 21110 Bretenieres, France SOUSSANA, J.F. lNRA Station d'Agronomie, 12 Avenue du Brezet, 63039 Clermont-Ferrand Cedex 02, France
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