Potassium alleviated high nitrogen-induced apple growth inhibition by regulating photosynthetic nitrogen allocation and enhancing nitrogen utilization capacity

There is a close relationship between potassium(K)and nitrogen(N).However,the roles of K under high N conditions remain unclear.Using a hydroponics approach,we monitored the morphological,physiological,and molecular changes in M9T337 apple(Malus domestica)rootstocks under different nitrate(10 and 30 mmol·L^(-1)NO_(3)^(-))and K supply(0.5,6,10,and 20 mmol·L_(-1)K^(+))conditions.Results revealed that high nitrate inhibited the root growth of M9T337 rootstocks,downregulated the expressions of K transporter genes(MdPT5,MdHKT1,and MdATK1),and reduced the net NO3-and K+influx at the surface of roots,thereby resulting in an N/K imbalance in rootstocks.Further investigation showed that 10 mmol·L^(-1)K increased the activity of N metabolic enzymes(NR,GS,NiR,and GOGAT),upregulated the expressions of genes related to nitrate uptake and transport(MdNRT1.1,MdNRT1.2,MdNRT1.5,and MdNRT2.4),promoted15N transport from the roots to the shoots,optimized leaf N distribution,and improved photosynthetic N utilization efficiency under high nitrate conditions.These results suggest that the negative effects of high nitrate may be related to the N/K imbalance and that reducing N/K in plants by increasing K supply level can effectively alleviate the inhibition of N assimilation by high nitrate stress.

Characteristics of Soil Organic Carbon, Total Nitrogen, and C/N Ratio in Chinese Apple Orchards

Soil organic carbon and nitrogen are used as indexes of soil quality assessment and sustainable land use management. At the same time, soil C/N ratio is a sensitive indicator of soil quality and for assessing the carbon and nitrogen nutrition balance of soils. We studied the characteristics of soil organic carbon and total nitrogen by investigating a large number of apple orchards in major apple production areas in China. High apple orchard soil organic carbon content was observed in the provinces of Heilongjiang, Xinjiang, and Yunnan, whereas low content was found in the provinces of Shandong, Henan, Hebei, and Shaanxi, with the values ranging between 6.44 and 7.76 g·kg-1. Similar to soil organic carbon, soil total nitrogen content also exhibited obvious differences in the 12 major apple producing provinces. Shandong apple orchard soil had the highest total nitrogen content (1.26 g·kg-1), followed by Beijing (1.23 g·kg-1). No significant difference was noted between these two regions, but their total nitrogen content was significantly higher than the other nine provinces, excluding Yunnan. The soil total nitrogen content for Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, Hebei, Henan, and Gansu was between 0.87 and 1.03 g·kg-1, which was significantly lower than that in Shandong and Beijing, but significantly higher than that in Liaoning, Shanxi, and Shaanxi. Six provinces exhibited apple orchard soil C/N ratio higher than 10, including Heilongjiang (15.42), Xinjiang (13.38), Ningxia (14.45), Liaoning (12.24), Yunnan (11.03), and Gansu (10.63). The soil C/N ratio was below 10 in the remaining six provinces, in which the highest was found in Shaanxi (9.47), followed by Beijing (8.98), Henan (7.99), and Shanxi (7.62), and the lowest was found in Hebei (6.80) and Shandong (6.05). Therefore, the improvement of soil organic carbon should be given more attention to increase the steady growth of soil C/N ratio.

Effects of Soil C/N Ratio on Apple Growth and Nitrogen Utilization,Residue and Loss

Soil C /N ratio is an important influencing factor in soil nitrogen cycling. Two-year old apple trees( Borkh. cv. ‘Fuji'/Malus hupehensis) were used to understand the effect of soil C/N ratio [6. 52( CK),10,15,20,25,30,35 and 40]on apple growth and nitrogen utilization and loss by using15N trace technique. The results showed that,with the increasing of soil C/N ratio,apple shoot length and fresh weight increased at first,and then decreased; the higher apple shoot length and fresh weight appeared in C/N = 15,20 and 25 treatments,and there were no significant differences among these three treatments,but significantly higher than the other treatments. Statistical analysis revealed that there was significant difference in nitrogen utilization rate between the different treatments,the highest N utilization rate was occurred in soil C/N = 25 treatment which value was 22. 87%,and there was no significant difference between soil C/N = 25 and C/N = 20 treatments,but both the two treatments were significantly higher than the other treatments; Soil C/N = 40 had the lowest N utilization rate which value was 15. 43%,and this value was less than CK( 16. 65%). The proportion of plant absorption nitrogen from fertilizer was much higher when the value of soil C/N ratio in the range of 15- 25,but the percentage of plant absorption nitrogen from soil was much higher when the soil C/N ratio was too low( < 15) or high( < 25). Amount of residual nitrogen in soil increased gradually with the soil C/N ratio increasing,the amount of residual nitrogen in C/N = 40 treatment was 1. 32 times than that in CK. With the increasing of soil C/N ratio,fertilizer nitrogen loss decreased at first,and then increased,fertilizer nitrogen loss was the minimum in C/N = 25 treatments( 49. 87%) and the maximum were occurred in CK( 61. 54%). Therefore,regarding the apple growth and nitrogen balance situation,the value of soil C/N ratio in the range of 15- 25 would be favorable for apple growth and could increase effectively nitrogen fixed by soil,reduce nitrogen loss,and improve the nitrogen utilization ratio.

Soil Fertility,Microbial Biomass,and Microbial Functional Diversity Responses to Four Years Fertilization in an Apple Orchard in North China

Soil microbial communities play an essential role in maintaining soil fertility and are considered as ecological indicators to evaluate soil health.In the present study,we examined the influence of almost 4 years of fertilization[no fertilizer(CK),nitrogen alone(N),nitrogen,phosphorus and potassium chemical fertilizer(NPK),organicmanure(M),nitrogen plus organic manure(NM),and NPK plus organic manure(NPKM)]on soil fertility and the functional diversity of soil microbial communities in an apple orchard.Compared to CK,fertilization increased soil organic carbon,total nitrogen,and available nutrients,but reduced soil pH in N and NPK treatments.The highest microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen,most probable number of actinomycetes,bacteria,and fungi occurred in the NPKM treatment.The average well color development(AWCD)values followed the order of NPKM>M>NPK and NM>CK and N.The Shannon index in organic manure treatments were significantly higher than in control and in treatments without organic manure.The principal component analysis showed that manure treatment was significantly separated from other treatments.These results indicated that organic manure applied alone or in combination with chemical fertilizers would increase soil fertility and functional diversity of soil microbial communities.Moreover,applying balanced N,P,K fertilizer in combination with organic manure was found to be superior to the use of a single fertilizer in improving soil microbial community quality.