NITROGEN FIXATION OF GRAIN LEGUMES DIFFERS IN RESPONSE TO NITROGEN FERTILISATION

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
SILVIA PAMPANA ◽  
ALESSANDRO MASONI ◽  
MARCO MARIOTTI ◽  
LAURA ERCOLI ◽  
IDUNA ARDUINI
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Grain Legumes ◽  
White Lupin ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Field Bean ◽  
Nitrogen Fertilisation ◽  
N Supply ◽  
Nodule Biomass ◽  
Legume Crops ◽  
The Impact

SUMMARYLegume crops are not usually fertilised with mineral N. However, there are at least two agronomic cases when it would be advantageous to distribute N fertiliser to legume crops: at sowing, before the onset of nodule functioning, and when a legume is intercropped with a cereal. We highlight the impact of various levels of fertiliser nitrogen on grain yield, nodulation capacity and biological nitrogen fixation in the four most common grain legume crops grown in central Italy. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), field bean (Vicia faba L. var. minor), pea (Pisum sativum L.) and white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) were grown in soil inside growth boxes for two cropping seasons with five nitrogen fertilisation rates: 0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 kg ha−1. In both years, experimental treatments (five crops and five levels of N) were arranged in a randomised block design. We found that unfertilised plants overall yielded grain, total biomass and nitrogen at a similar level to plants supplied with 80–120 kg ha−1 of mineral nitrogen. However, above those N rates, the production of chickpea, pea and white lupin decreased, thus indicating that the high supply of N fertiliser decreased the level of N2 fixed to such an extent that the full N2-fixing potential might not be achieved. In all four grain legumes, the amount of N2 fixed was positively related to nodule biomass, which was inversely related to the rate of the N fertiliser applied. The four grain legumes studied responded differently to N fertilisation: in white lupin and chickpea, the amount of nitrogen derived from N2 fixation linearly decreased with increasing N supply as a result of a reduction in nodulation and N2 fixed per unit mass of nodules. Conversely, in field bean and pea, the decrease in N2 fixation was only due to a reduction in nodule biomass since nodule fixation activity increased with N supply. Our results suggest that the legume species and the N rate are critical factors in determining symbiotic N2-fixation responses to N fertilisation.

scholarly journals Feed legumes for truly sustainable crop-animal systems

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Annicchiarico
Keyword(s):  
Unit Area ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Grain Legumes ◽  
Protein Yield ◽  
White Lupin ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
N Fixation ◽  
Genetic Progress ◽  
High Feed ◽  
Feed Protein

Legume cultivation has sharply decreased in Italy during the last 50 years. Lucerne remains widely grown (with about 12% of its area devoted to dehydration), whereas soybean is definitely the most-grown grain legume. Poor legume cropping is mainly due to the gap in yielding ability with major cereals, which has widened up in time according to statistical data. Lucerne displays definitely higher crude protein yield and somewhat lower economic gap with benchmark cereals than feed grain legumes. Pea because of high feed energy production per unit area and rate of genetic progress, and white lupin because of high protein yield per unit area, are particularly interesting for Italian rain-fed environments. Greater legume cultivation in Europe is urged by the need for reducing energy and green-house gas emissions and excessive and unbalanced global N flows through greater symbiotic N fixation and more integrated crop-animal production, as well as to cope with ongoing and perspective raising prices of feed proteins and N fertilisers and insecurity of feed protein supplies. The transition towards greater legume cultivation requires focused research effort, comprehensive stakeholder cooperation and fair economic compensation for legume environmental services, with a key role for genetic improvement dragged by public breeding or pre-breeding. New opportunities for yield improvement arise from the ongoing development of cost-efficient genome-enabled selection procedures, enhanced adaptation to specific cropping conditions via ecophysiological and evolutionary-based approaches, and more thorough exploitation of global genetic resources.

Heat stress in grain legumes during reproductive and grain-filling phases

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (11) ◽  
pp. 985 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Farooq ◽  
Faisal Nadeem ◽  
Nirmali Gogoi ◽  
Aman Ullah ◽  
Salem S. Alghamdi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Leaf Senescence ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Substantial Reduction ◽  
Grain Filling ◽  
Grain Legumes ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
The Impact

Thermal stress during reproductive development and grain-filling phases is a serious threat to the quality and productivity of grain legumes. The optimum temperature range for grain legume crops is 10−36°C, above which severe losses in grain yield can occur. Various climatic models have simulated that the temperature near the earth’s surface will increase (by up to 4°C) by the end of this century, which will intensify the chances of heat stress in crop plants. The magnitude of damage or injury posed by a high-temperature stress mainly depends on the defence response of the crop and the specific growth stage of the crop at the time of exposure to the high temperature. Heat stress affects grain development in grain legumes because it disintegrates the tapetum layer, which reduces nutrient supply to microspores leading to premature anther dehiscence; hampers the synthesis and distribution of carbohydrates to grain, curtailing the grain-filling duration leading to low grain weight; induces poor pod development and fractured embryos; all of which ultimately reduce grain yield. The most prominent effects of heat stress include a substantial reduction in net photosynthetic rate, disintegration of photosynthetic apparatus and increased leaf senescence. To curb the catastrophic effect of heat stress, it is important to improve heat tolerance in grain legumes through improved breeding and genetic engineering tools and crop management strategies. In this review, we discuss the impact of heat stress on leaf senescence, photosynthetic machinery, assimilate translocation, water relations, grain quality and development processes. Furthermore, innovative breeding, genetic, molecular and management strategies are discussed to improve the tolerance against heat stress in grain legumes.

scholarly journals Breeding of legume crops for effective nitrogen fixation

1970 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 183-186
Author(s):  
V. I. Sichkar
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Field Conditions ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Laboratory Conditions ◽  
Rhizobium Strains ◽  
Rainfed Conditions ◽  
Legume Crops ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
Experimental Strains

Aim. Grain legume are able to accumulate 80–220 kg/ha of nitrogen. To optimize this process we should select the complementary pairs “cultivar-strain”, which could realize their maximum genetic potentials. We studied indices of symbiosis for the use of the number of experimental strains of soybean, pea and chickpea in laboratory and field conditions. Methods. The plants grown in containers of a volume of 0.3 l without nitrogen in laboratory conditions. Field research conducted in rainfed conditions in the presence of spontaneous rhizobia in the soil. Results. Substantial variability was found for indices of the symbiosis of the interaction of different varieties of soybean, chickpea and pea with recommended and experimental strains of rhizobia. The best combination are recommended for use in different locations. Conclusions. The selected experimental strains of rhizobia, which are characterized by improved performance of the symbiosis of the varieties of soybean, chickpea and pea are recommended for using. Keywords: rhizobium strains, nodulation, nitrogen fixation.

NONPROTEIN NITROGEN CONTENTS OF SOME GRAIN LEGUMES

1981 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 515-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. W. HOLT ◽  
F. W. SOSULSKI
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Grain Legumes ◽  
Field Pea ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Low Molecular Weight ◽  
Field Bean ◽  
Legume Species ◽  
Nonprotein Nitrogen ◽  
Nitrogen Contents

The seeds of nine grain legume species were analyzed for nonprotein nitrogen (NPN), amino acids (AA) in NPN, total nucleic acids and nucleic acid nitrogen (NAN). The range in amounts of low molecular weight NPN as determined by ultrafiltration was 16–75 mg/g N for the nine species. The range in NAN was very small and the average of all species was 23.4 mg/g N or 1.05 mg/g seed. Arginine, alanine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid and glycine were the major AA constituents in the ultrafiltrate NPN of six samples of field pea, fababean and field bean. Twenty percent of the nitrogen (N) of the NPN was in protein AA in fababean while the values were 59–75% for field pea and field bean. The remainder along with the NAN was equal to 3.6–5.7% of the seed N.

scholarly journals Grain legume crop history among Slavic nations traced using linguistic evidence

2014 ◽  
Vol 50 (No. 2) ◽  
pp. 65-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mikić
Keyword(s):  
Short Note ◽  
Grain Legumes ◽  
Leguminous Plant ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Field Bean ◽  
Crop History ◽  
Slavic Languages ◽  
Legume Crop ◽  
Linguistic Evidence ◽  
The Common

With Proto-Slavic and other Proto-Indo-European homelands close to each other and on the routes of domestication of the first cultivated grain legumes, now known as pulses, one may assume that the ancestors of the modern Slavic nations knew field beans, peas or lentils quite well. The main goal of this short note was to examine the origin and the diversity of the words denoting field bean, pea and lentil in most of the modern Slavic languages. The common ancestor of all modern Slavic words denoting field bean is the Proto-Slavic *bobŭ, derived from the Proto-Indo-European *bhabh-, bhabhā, also denoting field bean and meaning literally something swelling. The Proto-Slavic root *gorhŭ, denoting pea, is the origin of the words denoting pea in all the Slavic languages and was derived from the Proto-Indo-European *ghArs-, ghers-2, that denoted a leguminous plant in general. The words denoting lentil in the modern Slavic languages form two etymologically distinct groups. The first one owes the origin to the Proto-Slavic *lętjā, also denoting lentil and deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root *lent-, *lent-s-, with the same meaning. Another group has its origin in the Proto-Slavic *sočevicа, somehow related to the Proto-Slavic *sòkŭ, denoting juice. This short thesaurus is a testimony of the significant role the most ancient Eurasian grain legumes, such as field bean, pea and lentil, have been playing in the everyday life of the modern Slavic nations.

Controlled Environments as an Adjunct to Field Research on Lentils (Lens culinaris) I. Perspectives, Tenets and Objectives

1981 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 363-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Summerfield ◽  
F. J. Muehlbauer
Keyword(s):  
Lens Culinaris ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Grain Legumes ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Controlled Environment ◽  
Legume Crops ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Controlled Environments

SUMMARYOur experience with potentially tropic-adapted grain legumes leads us to hypothesize that ‘with appropriate and sufficiently proven technology, developed specifically for the purpose, controlled environment facilities can be a powerful adjunct to field research and so assist in the attainment of crop improvement objectives in lentils’. This contribution comments on the ‘adaptation’ of grain legume crops to their environments, describes current lentil production in the USA and elsewhere, and discusses the tenets and objectives of a programme of research devoted to the ultimate release of lentil genotypes that are well adapted to the environments for which they are intended.

A note on the words in the Baltic languages for some of the most ancient European grain legume crops

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Mikic
Keyword(s):  
Faba Bean ◽  
Grain Legumes ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Linguistic Evidence ◽  
Legume Crops ◽  
The Baltic

AbstractThe words denoting the most ancient European grain legumes, such as ‘pea’, ‘lentil’ or ‘faba bean’, in both extinct and living Baltic languages confirm that these crops were cultivated among the ancestors of the modern Lithuanians and Latvians. The words denoting ‘pea’, such as Lithuanian žirnis and Latvian zirņi, are derived from the Proto-Baltic *žir̂n-ia- and the Proto-Indo-European *g'er[a]n-, denoting grain. The Proto-Indo-European root denoting ‘lentil’, *lent-, gave the Proto-Baltic *leñšia- and the modern Lithuanian lęšis and the Latvian lēca. The linguistic evidence confirms that the Old Balts transferred both grain legume crops and their names to their Finno-Ugric neighbours.

Potential for increasing nitrogen fixation in grain legumes

1992 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. R. Buttery ◽  
S. J. Park ◽  
D. J. Hume
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Plant Breeding ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Strain Improvement ◽  
Pigeon Pea ◽  
Grain Legumes ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Inoculation Techniques ◽  
Grain Nitrogen

This review considers the main factors determining the level of nitrogen fixation in the major grain-legume crops (chickpea, common bean, cowpea, faba bean, lentil, pea, peanut, pigeon pea and soybean) and discusses the possibilities and means for improving symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Methods of determining whether nitrogen is limiting growth and yield are discussed, and responses of the various crops to both the addition of nitrogen fertilizer and inoculation with effective strains of rhizobia are described. The present situation and future prospects for increasing nitrogen fixation through plant breeding, development of superior strains, superior host–strain combinations, improved inoculation techniques, bioengineering and other non-traditional methods are discussed. The general conclusions are that increases in nitrogen-fixation potential should be possible in all grain legumes through both plant breeding and strain improvement. Major increases in the quantity of nitrogen fixed could be achieved simply by improving general cultural practices; however, in developing countries, where the gap between actual and potential crop yield is so large, such improvements are likely to occur very slowly.Key words: legumes (grain), nitrogen fixation, nodulation, Rhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, breeding, strain selection

GRAIN LEGUMES IN PEARL MILLET SYSTEMS IN NORTHERN NAMIBIA: AN ASSESSMENT OF POTENTIAL NITROGEN CONTRIBUTIONS

2003 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 349-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. McDONAGH ◽  
A. E. M. HILLYER
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Pearl Millet ◽  
Pennisetum Glaucum ◽  
Nutrient Balance ◽  
Grain Legumes ◽  
Residue Management ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Nitrogen Inputs

A nutrient-balance model was used to investigate the nitrogen contributions of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) to pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) intercropping systems in semi-arid northern Namibia. Data on nitrogen fixation, production, crop nitrogen off-take and competition effects came from two seasons of fieldwork. Supplementary data were taken from secondary sources. The model was used as a tool to attempt to identify grain legume management options with the potential to make significant contributions to soil fertility. The crop parameters pearl millet grain yield, nitrogen fixation rates, nitrogen harvest index and biomass production were found to be critical in determining system nitrogen inputs and outputs as was the form of residue management. The model indicated that it is extremely difficult to manage grain legumes in dryland environments in ways that lead to consistent increases in pearl millet grain yields, measurable against season-to-season variation due to other factors. Several of the options for improved legume management conflict strongly with farmers' risk-avoidance strategies and their tendency to invest preferentially in off-farm activities in an environment where livelihoods have diversified considerably away from agriculture. Potential routes for increasing grain legume contributions to soil fertility in dryland areas are discussed.

scholarly journals Evaluation of indigenous grain legume collections

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (29) ◽  
pp. 77-84
Author(s):  
Sofia Petrova ◽  
◽  
Tsvetelina Stoilova ◽  
Petar Chavdarov ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Phenotypic Diversity ◽  
Plant Genetic Resources ◽  
Grain Legumes ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
White Lupin ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Biological Traits ◽  
High Genetic Diversity ◽  
Nutrition Security

Grain legumes have positive impact on global food and nutrition security. Grain legume collections, maintained at the Institute of Plant Genetic Resources - Sadovo are represented by 10 botanical genera. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the phenotypic diversity of local accessions from five grain legume collections (Vicia faba, Pisum sp., Lathyrus sp., Cicer arietinum and Lupinus sp.) and to select the best ones with potential to be used under different agro-climatic conditions. The assessment of morphological and agro-biological traits was performed according to the International Descriptor for each crop. The structural elements of the yield, such as the number of pods and the mass of pods and grains per plant, grains size, etc. have a significant impact on the productivity of the grain legumes. The variability of agronomic and biological traits has shown high genetic diversity in evaluated grain legume collections and increased the possibilities for their use in the breeding-improvement activity. Based on phenotyping assessment several grain legume accessions were distinguished as starting breeding materials: from pea collection - two cultivars and two local populations; from chickpea collection - four populations; from faba bean collection – eight populations; from bitter vetch collection – two accessions; from grass pea collection - six genotypes; from white lupin collection – two accessions. The study of the materials from the collections was focused on the interests of researchers, breeders and producers.

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