Abstract
The close relationship between nitrate depletion of the subsoil and root-length densities found in field experiments could not be explained by mathematical models simulating nitrate uptake (Wiesler and Horst, 1994). The objective of the present study was the validation of some of the assumptions made in these models namely uniform nitrate-uptake rates (NURs) independent on root age and daytime.
Different techniques were developed and compared for the measurement of NUR of different root zones: (i) isolated root segments, (ii) compartmented uptake cuvettes, (iii) depletion of nitrate (water) from agarose blocks placed on specific zones of roots growing in nutrient solution and (iv) in rhizotrones filled with soil over the whole growing cycle of maize plants. All methods yielded a similar magnitude of NUR (10 – 30 pmol cm-2 s-1). However, only intact plants growing in nutrient solution as well as in soil, but not isolated root segments, showed higher NUR at apical root zones compared to more mature branching root zones by a factor of 2 – 8. The NUR of the root apex was particularly sensitive to the nitrogen demand of the plant and the assimilate supply from the shoots as affected by light intensity. At suboptimal, but not at optimal light conditions during preculture, NUR was lower in the dark than in the light. As plants matured, NUR of soil grown plants became increasingly dependent on water uptake. But even if nitrate uptake by mass flow was subtracted from total nitrate uptake, mature roots showed a surprisingly high nitrate-uptake capacity.
The results indicate that the formation of root-age classes with different NUR and the assumption of lower NUR at night could improve the modelling of nitrate uptake.
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Reidenbach, G., Horst, W.J. (1997). Nitrate-uptake capacity of different root zones of Zea mays (L.) in vitro and in situ. In: Ando, T., Fujita, K., Mae, T., Matsumoto, H., Mori, S., Sekiya, J. (eds) Plant Nutrition for Sustainable Food Production and Environment. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 78. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0047-9_214
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0047-9_214
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