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.

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.

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.

Monitoring Soil Nitrate Nitrogen Based on Hyperspectral Data in the Apple Orchards

This paper is aimed to monitor the soil nitrate nitrogen content in the apple orchards rapidly, accurately and in real time by making full use of the effective information of soil spectra. The 96 air-dried soil samples of the apple orchards in Qixia county, Yantai city, Shandong province were used as the data source. Spectral measurements of soil samples were carried out by ASD Fieldspec 3 in the darkroom, and the content of the soil nitrate nitrogen was determined by chemical method. Then the hyperspectral reflectance of soil samples were preprocessed by Multivariate Scatter Correction (MSC) and First Derivative (FD), the correlation analysis was carried out with the soil nitrate nitrogen content. The sensitive wavelength of soil nitrate nitrogen was screened. Finally, the Support Vector Machine (SVM) model for the soil nitrate nitrogen content was established. The results showed that the selected sensitive wavelength were 617 nm, 760 nm, 1239 nm, 1442 nm, 1535 nm, 1695 nm, 1776 nm, 1907 nm and 2088 nm. Hyperspectral monitoring model was established by SVM, in which the prediction set R2 was 0.959, RMSE was 0.281, RPD was 3.835;the correction set R2 was 0.822, RMSE was 0.392, RPD was 2.037. The SVM model could be used to monitor the soil nitrate content accurately.

Improve the Prediction Accuracy of Apple Tree Canopy Nitrogen Content through Multiple Scattering Correction Using Spectroscopy

Method: Use Multiple Scattering Correction to eliminate the interference of scattering on spectrum in the process of field measurement so as to improve the accuracy of prediction model of tree canopy nitrogen content. Apple trees in Qixia of Yantai City were taken as the test material. The spectral reflectivity of apple tree canopy went through the First Derivative (FD) and Multiple Scattering Correction (MSC) plus first derivative, respectively. The correlation coefficients were calculated between spectral reflectivity and nitrogen content. The Support Vector Machine (SVM) method was used to establish the prediction model. The result indicates that the MSC pre-processing can improve the correlation between spectral reflectivity and nitrogen content. The SVM model with MSC + FD pre-processing was a good way to predict the nitrogen content. The calibration R2 of the model was 0.746;the validation R2 was 0.720;and its RMSE was 0.452 g·kgˉ1. MSC can commendably eliminate scattering error to improve the prediction accuracy of prediction model.

Visualization of Chlorophyll Content Distribution in Apple Leaves Based on Hyperspectral Imaging Technology

We took distribution visualization of chlorophyll content in apple leaves to estimate the nutrient content and growth levels of apple leaves. 130 mature and non-destructive apple leaves were collected, and imaging spectroscopy data were collected by SOC710VP hyperspectral imager. The chlorophyll content of the leaves was determined on the spectral information of the leaves. After pre-processing, we took linear wavelength stepwise regression method to choose the sensitive wavelength of chlorophyll content. And then we established partial least squares, principal component analysis and stepwise regression model. Finally, the chlorophyll content distribution visualization was realized. The results showed that the sensitive wavelengths of the chlorophyll content were 712.50 nm, 509.95 nm, 561.22 nm, 840.62 nm, 696.67 nm and 987.91 nm. The R2, RMSE, RE of the optical chlorophyll content estimation model, and the principal component analysis regression model, were 0.800, 0.319 and 26.4%. The chlorophyll content of each pixel on the hyperspectral image of apple leaves was calculated by the best estimation model and we completed the visualization distribution of chlorophyll content, which provided a technical support for the rapid detection of nutrient distribution.

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.

Simulated Reflectance of Apple Trees in Canopy Level Based on the PROSAIL Model and HJ-1A-HSI Data

Using the PROSAIL radiation transfer model and HJ-1A-HSI data to simulate the canopy reflectivity of apple trees, this study lays the foundation for the inversion of canopy parameters. Taking Qixia City of Yantai City, Shandong Province as the research area, the apple tree was taken as the research object, and the hyperspectral reflectance, LAI and sample GPS of apple canopy were measured in the field. The parameters required for the PROSAIL model were obtained by experimental methods. The model simulates the reflectivity;the HSI image data is preprocessed, and the canopy reflectivity is extracted by GPS coordinates. The PROSAIL model and the HSI image simulated reflectance were fitted to the measured apple canopy reflectivity. The decisive factor (R2) of the simulated reflectance and the measured reflectance of the PROSAIL model was 0.9944, and the relative error (RE%)was 0.1845. The HSI data simulated reflectance and measured reflectance. The coefficient of determination is 0.9714 and the relative error is 0.6202. Both have achieved good fitting effects and can be used for inversion studies of apple canopy parameters.

Remote Sensing Inversion of Nitrogen Nutrition Status of Apple Tree Leaves during Stopping Period of Spring Shoots

The nutrient inversion model of apple leaves was established by spectral analysis technology to provide technical support for the fine management of apple trees.In Shuangquan Town,Changqing District,Jinan City,Shandong Province,the Fuji apple trees with stopping period of spring shoots were taken as research objects.The spectral reflectance and nitrogen content of apple leaves were measured by ASD Field Spec 4 portable ground object spectrometer.Analyzed the correlation between leaf nitrogen content and spectral reflectance.The sensitive wavelengths with high correlation coefficient were select by fractional differential algorithm,and the optimal vegetation index was constructed and screened out.Partial Least Square Regression(PLSR),Support Vector Machine(SVM)and Random Forests(RF)method were used to construct an inversion model of leaf nitrogen content.The results show that the RF model based on fractional differential second-order treatment is the best inversion model for the nitrogen content of leaves during stopping period of spring shoots.The modeling accuracy determination coefficient R2 reached 0.891,RMSE was 0.0841,and RPD was 2.1396.The determination coefficient R2 of the fitting results of the verification set was 0.617,RMSE was 0.1251,and RPD was 1.7105.The inversion model established by RF method is effective in monitoring the nitrogen content in apple leaves,which provides a theoretical basis for monitoring the growth of apple by hyperspectral technology.