Isotopic Studies of Azolla and Nitrogen Fertilization of Rice: Report of an FAO/IAEA/SIDA Co-ordinated Research Programme on Isotopic Studies of Nitrogen Fixation and Nitrogen Cycling by Blue-Green Algae and Azolla

148 Pages·1993·0.35 MB·English

by  K. S. Kumarasinghe

ISOTOPIC STUDIES OF AZOLLA AND
NITROGEN FERTILIZATION OF RICE
Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences
VOLUME 51
The titles published in this series are listed at the end a/this volume.
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COMPILED FROM DATA OBTAINED BY
J.C. BUNOAN (Philippines), CHONGBIAO YOU (China), S.KA.
DANSO (FAOIIAEA), D.L. ESKEW (FAOIIAEA), G. KOVACS
(Hungary),
S.A. KULASOORIYA (Sri Lanka), KS. KUMARASINGHE
(FAOIIAEA),
LIU CHUNG-CHU (China), T.A. LUMPKIN (U.S.A.), KA.
MALIK (Pakistan),
M.H. MIAN (Bangladesh), A.P. RUSCHEL (Brazil), E. SISWORO
(Indonesia),
P. SWATDEE (Thailand), C. VAN HOVE (Belgium), I. Watanabe
(Philippines)
and F. ZAPATA (FAOIIAEA)
.C ontents
Preface IX
1. Introduction 1
2. Assessment of nitrogen fixation in Azalia using
the 15N isotope dilution technique 3
3. Comparison of the direct and indirect 15N methods for
evaluation of N uptake by rice from Azalia 16
4. Use of 15N-Iabelled ammonium sulphate and
15N~labelled urea as a source for labelling Azalia
with 15N 23
5. Effects of urea and Azalia on N uptake and yield
of rice 32
6. Co-ordinated field evaluation of Azalia N uptake
and yield response of rice in Bangladesh, China,
Indonesia, Pakistan, The Philippines, Sri Lanka
and Thailand 42
7. Residual effects of Azalia N to a second crop
of rice or wheat 55
8. A comparative study of the effects of Azalla species
and strain on availability of N to rice 61
9. Comparison of the availability of N from
fresh vs dried Azalia 66
viii
to. Effects of phosphorus fertilization on growth
and N accumulation in Azolia 71
11. Nitrogen balance studies in Azolia/rice cropping systems 79
12. Increasing fertilizer use efficiency of urea
using Azolia 87
13. Summary and conclusions 98
14. References t03
15. List of participants t09
16. Appendices 113
Preface
The past few decades have seen a rapid advance in science and de
velopment, population growth and in food production. Isotope and
related nuclear techniques have played a significant role in finding
new crop technologies and nutrient management practices which
have contributed substantially to increasing world food production
to the level at which it is today. The rate at which food production
increased in many developing countries during the past few decades
has, if at all, just been sufficient to meet the increased demand for
food resulting from population growth. In spite of remarkable ad
vances in agricultural sciences in recent years, the need for increas
ing global food production is still critical and is likely to be more so
in the future. Being the staple food of over onehalf of the world's
population especially in the developing world, increasing and stabi
lizing rice production will make a significant contribution to avert
ing hunger and malnutrition in the future.
Nitrogen is the most limiting element for crop production. Tradi
tionally, expensive commercial fertilizers are used to correct soil N
deficiencies. Indeed, 50% of the increase in rice yields after World
War II can be attributed to increased fertilizer N use. Although an
increased rate of fertilizer N application has been advocated to meet
the growing demand for food, it is unrealistic to advise the farmers
to apply fertilizers they could hardly afford, and whose prices are
likely to escalate in the years ahead. In addition, when they are not
applied judiciously there are problems of environmental pollution as
plants are capable of taking up only a relatively small portion of the
applied nitrogen, a substantial amount being lost through various
chemical and biological processes. The exploitation of cheaper al
ternatives or supplements to fertilizers have therefore gained much
interest in recent years.
ix
x Preface
Our increased interest in biological nitrogen fixation as a supple
ment or alternative to nitrogen fertilizers led to the convening of a
consultants meeting on "The role of isotopes in studies on nitrogen
fixation and nitrogen cycling by bluegreen algae and the Azolia
Anabaena azoliae association", in Vienna from 11 - 15 October
1982. S.K.ADanso of the Soil Fertility, Irrigation and Crop Produc
tion Section acted as the Scientific Secretary of this meeting. The
consultants group recommended that the Joint FAOIIAEA Division
of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture embark on a Coor
dinated Research Programme in this field and that initial emphasis
should be placed on Azolia Anabaena symbiosis. As a result, a
Coordinated Research Programme was initiated in 1984 which was
concluded in 1989. The results and conclusions reported here are
those that were generated during the five years of its operation.
The IABA and the FAO would like to thank all those who were
involved in this project: the contractors J.C. Bunoan (Philippines),
Chong Biao You (China), G, Kovacs (Hungary), S.A. Kulasooriya
(Sri Lanka), Liu Chung Chu (China), K.A. Malik (Pakistan), M.H.
Mian (Bangladesh), AP. Ruschel (Brazil), E. Sisworo (Indonesia),
and P. Swatdee (Thailand), and the agreement holders A Gunatilla
ka (Austria), T.A. Lumpkin (United States of America), C. Van
Hove (Belgium) and I Watanabe (Philippines), whose invaluable
data made writing of this book possible. D.L. Eskew (presently at
the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA) and K.S. Kumara
singhe of the Soil Fertility, Irrigation and Crop Production Section
functioned as project officers with great enthusiasm and high pro
fessionalism and were responsible for the preparation of the manu
script. I myself was pleased to assist the project officers in critically
reviewing the manuscript. F. Zapata, H. Axmann, J. L. Arrillaga and
M. Golbs of the Agency's Laboratories in Seibersdorf assisted in
backup research conducted in Austria and in Hungary, and in 15N
analytical work. R. Rossi and M. Kneissl assisted the programme in
various ways and in typing the manuscript.
We express our sincere gratitude to the Swedish Government for
its generous financial support of this programme through the Swed
ish International Development Authority (SIDA), which made the
implementation of this programme possible.
Preface
Xl
It is our fervent hope that the information contained in this
book will facilitate the future agricultural scientists in meeting the
challenges facing finding ways of increasing and sustaining rice
production throughout the developed and developing world.
C. Hera October 1992
Head I Soil Fertility. Irrigation
and Crop Production Section
Joint FAOIIAEA Division of
Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture