Effects of Atmospheric CO_2 Enrichment, Applied Nitrogen and Soil Moisture on Dry Matter Accumulation and Nitrogen Uptake in Spring Wheat

Spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Dingxi No. 8654) was treated with two concentrations of atmospheric COz (350 and 700 μmol mol-1), two levels of soil moisture (well-watered and drought) and five rates of nitrogen fertilizer (0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 mg kg-1 soil) to study the atmospheric CO2 concentration effect on dry matter accumulation and N uptake of spring wheat. The effects of CO2 enrichment on the shoot and total mass depended largely on soil nitrogen level, and the shoot and total mass increased significantly in the moderate to high N treatments but did not increase significantly in the low N treatment. Enriched CO2concentration did not increase more shoot and total mass in the drought treatment than in the well-watered treatment. Thus, elevated CO2 did not ameliorate the depressive effects of drought and nitrogen stress. In addition, root mass decreased slightly and root/shoot ratio decreased significantly due to CO2 enrichment in no N treatment under well-watered condition. Enriched CO2 decreased shoot N content and shoot and total N uptake; but it reduced root N content and uptake slightly. Shoot critical N concentration was lower for spring wheat grown at 700 μmol mol-1 CO2 than at 350 μmol mol-1 CO2 in both well-watered and drought treatments. The critical N concentrations were 16 and 19 g kg-1 for the well-watered treatment and drought treatment at elevated CO2 and 21 and 26 g kg-1 at ambient CO2, respectively. The reductions in the movement of nutrients to the plant roots through mass flow due to the enhancement in WUE (water use efficiency) and the increase in N use efficiency at elevated CO2 could elucidate the reduction of shoot and root N concentrations.

Effect of Shading on Gas Exchange of Cotton Leaves Under Conditions of Different Soil Water Contents

Effect of different shading levels (no-shading, 80% shading, and 40% shading) on photosynthetic and stomatal responses in cotton leaves were investigated under conditions of different soil water contents in summer midday. All cotton leaves exhibited similar basic responses to shading, including decreased net photosynthetic rates, a tendency to decrease in transpiration rates, and increased stomatal conductance and intercellular CO2 concentration. The leaf conductance of 80% shaded and 40% shaded plants increased by 28% and 16.7% compared with no-shaded plants at high water, respectively, but the net photosynthetic rates of 80% shaded and 40% shaded plants declined by 50% and 14.73%, respectively. Results showed that combined effect of soil moisture and shading on photosynthetic and stomatal responses in cotton leaves was very remarkable.

Dry-Matter Partitioning, Yield and Leaf Nutrient Contents of Tomato Plants as Influenced by Shading at Different Growth Stages

Pot-grown tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. Maofen) was used to study the effects ofthree shading levels (0, 75% and 40%) for 8 days on dry matter partitioning, contents of nitrogen (N),phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in leaves and yield at three growth stages (early flowering (EF), peakflowering (PF) and later flowering (LF)). Shading reduced the dry weight of root and stem tissues at the EFand PF stages, but the 40% shading increased root dry weight and stem dry weight by 43.2% and 21.6%,respectively, at the LF stage. The influence of shading on the dry weight of leaves was very small at mostgrowth stages. Shading had no effects on total leaf N, P and K contents at the EF and PF stages, showingthat N, P and K absorption were regulated by the carbon assimilation at these two stages. The leaf N, Pand K contents of 40% shaded plants at the LF stage were significantly increased. There were no obviousdifferences in leaf N and K contents between 75% and 40% shading treatments, but significant difference inleaf P contents was found between them at the LF stage. Shading significantly enhanced the fruit yield of40% shaded tomato plants at the LF stage, but failed to affect the fruit yield of shaded plants at the EFstage. These showed that tomato could grow well and a better yield could be obtained if some moderateshading (i.e., 40% shading) was applied at the LF stage at summer midday.