The maintenance of pH in unbuffered nutrient solutions has important consequences for the hydroponic industry and proposed nutrient delivery systems for plants in space. The requirement for charge balance by a model plant system, dwarf wheat (Triticum aestinum cv. Yecora rojo), is largely a function of the uptake ratio of four cation species (\batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \(\mathrm{NH}_{4}^{+}\) \end{document}, Ca2+, and Mg2+) and two anion species (\batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \(\mathrm{NO}_{3}^{-}\) \end{document} and \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \(\mathrm{SO}_{4}^{2-}\) \end{document}) up to anthesis. The change in electrical conductivity (EC) and pH of the nutrient solution over time integrates the overall influx:efflux process of the plants. Solutions with three different NH4:NO3 ratios were sampled at 15-min intervals over a 12-h period at 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 37, and 38 days after planting. Exhaustion of N in the solution at all stages of ontogeny resulted in a 2- to 3-fold reduction in ΔpH/Δt, despite high plant tissue N and irrespective of the concentration of other charge balance ions in solution. These data, combined with a plant nutrient uptake database (normalized for plant relative growth rate per mole PPF), suggest that a system can be developed to control pH by direct supply of various alternative nutrient stock solutions, rather than by the addition of H+ or OH– from acid or base.
Application of the “4R” Nutrient Stewardship Concept to Horticultural Crops: Applying Nutrients at the “Right Time”
