Determining N supplied sources and N use efficiency for peanut under applications of four forms of N fertilizers labeled by isotope^15N

Rational application of different forms of nitrogen（N） fertilizer for peanut（Arachis hypogaea L.） requires tracking the N supplied sources which are commonly not available in the differences among the three sources：root nodule,soil and fertilizer.In this study,two kinds of peanut plants（nodulated variety（Huayu 22） and non-nodulated variety（NN-1）） were choosed and four kinds of N fertilizers：urea-N（CONH_2-N）,ammonium-N（NH_4~＋-N）,nitrate-N（NO_3^--N） and NH_4~＋ ＋NO_3^--N labeled by^（15）N isotope were applied in the field barrel experiment in Chengyang Experimental Station,Shandong Province,China,to determine the N supplied sources and N use efficiency over peanut growing stages.The results showed that intensities and amounts of N supply from the three sources were all higher at middle growing stages（pegging phase and podding phase）.The accumulated amounts of N supply from root nodule,soil and fertilizer over the growing stages were 8.3,5.3 and 3.8g m^（-2） in CONH_2-N treatment,which are all significantly higher than in the other three treatments.At seedling phase,soil supplied the most N for peanut growth,then root nodule controlled the N supply at pegging phase and podding phase,but soil mainly provided N again at the last stage（pod filling phase）.For the whole growing stages,root nodule supplied the most N（47.8 and 43.0%） in CONH_2-N and NH_4~＋-N treatments,whereas soil supplied the most N（41.7 and 40.9%） in NH_4~＋ ＋NO_3^--N and NO_3^--N treatments.The N use efficiency was higher at pegging phase and podding phase,while accumulated N use efficiency over the growing stages was higher in CONH_2-N treatment（42.2%） than in other three treatments（30.4%in NH_4~＋-N treatment,29.4%in NO_3^--N treatment,29.4%in NH_4~＋ ＋NO_3^--N treatment）.In peanut growing field,application of CONH_2-N is a better way to increase the supply of N from root nodule and improve the N use efficiency.

Functional relationships of nodulation response and biomass production at nursery stages of two fast-growing, leguminous-multipurpose tree species in Bangladesh: Albizia saman and Leucaena leucocephala

This study was carried out to assess the relationship of the status of nodulation(i.e., the number of nodules, their shape and size) in root and biomass production of plant growth parameters(i.e., number of leaves, root and shoot lengths, root biomass and shoot biomass) in Albizia saman and Leucaena leucocephala. The assessment started 60 days after seeding. The study revealed that nodulation response and biomass production in both species showed significant differences over time(p < 0.05) in all variables except in the root-shoot ratio(oven-dry) of L. leucocephala. The study also showed significant differences(p < 0.05) in nodule formation and biomass production at the end of the study period between the two species except in the number of nodules and leaves and the green root-shoot ratio. There were strong positive correlations between nodule formation and biomass production, i.e., the number of nodules and the age of plants, the number of nodules and leaves, as well as the number of nodules and biomass(root biomass and shoot biomass) in both species. The results obtained using principal component analysis(PCA) and correlation coefficients of the different characteristics of nodulation and biomass production were similar in both species. The PCA showed that shoot biomass(shoot green weight and shoot oven-dry weight) is positively correlated with PC1(with an eigenvalue of 7.50) and root length is positively correlated with PC2(with an eigenvalue of 0.19) in the case of A. saman. In the case of L. leucocephala, the PCA revealed that root biomass(root green weight and root oven-dry weight), shoot biomass and shoot length are also positively correlated with PC1, while nodule formation and the number of leaves are positively correlated with PC2(with an eigenvalue PC1 of 6.92 and PC2 of 0.49).

Split-root systems applied to the study of the legume-rhizobial symbiosis: What have we learned?

Split-root system（SRS） approaches allow the differential treatment of separate and independent root systems, while sharing a common aerial part. As such, SRS is a useful tool for the discrimination of systemic（shoot origin）versus local（root/nodule origin） regulation mechanisms. This type of approach is particularly useful when studying the complex regulatory mechanisms governing the symbiosis established between legumes and Rhizobium bacteria. The current work provides an overview of the main insights gained from the application of SRS approaches to understand how nodule number（nodulation autoregulation） and nitrogen fixation are controlled both under non-stressful conditions and in response to a variety of stresses. Nodule number appears to be mainly controlled at the systemic level through a signal which is produced by nodule/root tissue, translocated to the shoot, and transmitted back to the root system, involving shoot Leu-rich repeat receptor-like kinases. In contrast, both local and systemic mechanisms have been shown to operate for the regulation of nitrogenase activity in nodules. Under drought and heavy metal stress, the regulation is mostly local,whereas the application of exogenous nitrogen seems to exert a regulation of nitrogen fixation both at the local and systemic levels.