Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Durum Wheat Under Different Nitrogen and Water Regimes in the Mediterranean Basin

Improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) represents one of the main goals to reduce N input in maximizing crop yield for sustainable agriculture. A NUE key strategy is the exploitation of genetic variation in available germplasm together with the understanding of molecular mechanisms governing this complex trait. Thus, NUE, its components, nitrogen uptake efficiency (NUpE) and nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE), and NUE-related traits heritability were evaluated in ancient (Cappelli, Capeiti, Russello, and Mazzancoio) and modern (Messapia, Tiziana, Svevo, and Normanno) wheat genotypes for tackling nitrogen (N) and/or water limitation in both growth chamber and field experiments. Our results exhibited a reduction of NUE, NUpE, and NUtE under water and combined (nitrogen + water) stress in all the genotypes, as expected. The contribution of genetic variability on phenotypic variation was significant for NUtE, harvest index, post-anthesis nitrogen uptake (PANU), and biomass production traits. Moreover, the stress tolerance indexes, calculated and bi-plotted for N and water stresses, exhibited two distinct clusters for many traits as then confirmed by principal component analysis. Although modern varieties showed higher crop yield and NUE under conventional N and water regimes, ancient varieties exhibited best performances to cope with both stresses, mainly under water limitation. Finally, the usage index, which takes into account total biomass increase, underlined that old genotypes were less affected by both stresses during crop cycle. In particular, these genotypes showed the best performances for NUE and its components under both stresses at stem elongation and milk ripening as shown also by PANU. In addition, at these stages, nitrate and ammonium transporter gene expressions in the root were performed, showing the highest activity in ancient varieties. In conclusion, the identification of NUE traits during a specific crop cycle stage, under both N and water limitation, will help in the breeding of more resilient varieties in Mediterranean sustainable agriculture by reducing N supply.

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Fate of nitrogen in agriculture and environment: agronomic, eco-physiological and molecular approaches to improve nitrogen use efficiency

Biological Research ◽

10.1186/s40659-020-00312-4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 53 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Muhammad Anas ◽

Fen Liao ◽

Krishan K. Verma ◽

Muhammad Aqeel Sarwar ◽

Aamir Mahmood ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Metabolism ◽

Nitrogen Uptake ◽

Nitrogen Use Efficiency ◽

Molecular Form ◽

Plant Population ◽

Production Costs ◽

Utilization Efficiency ◽

Optimal Dosage ◽

Nitrogen Use ◽

Use Efficiency

Abstract Nitrogen is the main limiting nutrient after carbon, hydrogen and oxygen for photosynthetic process, phyto-hormonal, proteomic changes and growth-development of plants to complete its lifecycle. Excessive and inefficient use of N fertilizer results in enhanced crop production costs and atmospheric pollution. Atmospheric nitrogen (71%) in the molecular form is not available for the plants. For world’s sustainable food production and atmospheric benefits, there is an urgent need to up-grade nitrogen use efficiency in agricultural farming system. The nitrogen use efficiency is the product of nitrogen uptake efficiency and nitrogen utilization efficiency, it varies from 30.2 to 53.2%. Nitrogen losses are too high, due to excess amount, low plant population, poor application methods etc., which can go up to 70% of total available nitrogen. These losses can be minimized up to 15–30% by adopting improved agronomic approaches such as optimal dosage of nitrogen, application of N by using canopy sensors, maintaining plant population, drip fertigation and legume based intercropping. A few transgenic studies have shown improvement in nitrogen uptake and even increase in biomass. Nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase, glutamine synthetase, glutamine oxoglutarate aminotransferase and asparagine synthetase enzyme have a great role in nitrogen metabolism. However, further studies on carbon–nitrogen metabolism and molecular changes at omic levels are required by using “whole genome sequencing technology” to improve nitrogen use efficiency. This review focus on nitrogen use efficiency that is the major concern of modern days to save economic resources without sacrificing farm yield as well as safety of global environment, i.e. greenhouse gas emissions, ammonium volatilization and nitrate leaching.

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Innovative high digestibility protein feed materials reducing environmental impact through improved nitrogen-use efficiency in sustainable agriculture

Journal of Environmental Management ◽

10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112693 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 291 ◽

pp. 112693

Author(s):

Katarzyna Chojnacka ◽

Katarzyna Mikula ◽

Grzegorz Izydorczyk ◽

Dawid Skrzypczak ◽

Anna Witek-Krowiak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Impact ◽

Sustainable Agriculture ◽

Nitrogen Use Efficiency ◽

Nitrogen Use ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

Protein Feed

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Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Nitrogen Uptake of Canola under Diverse Environments

Agronomy Journal ◽

10.2134/agrojnl2007.0229 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 100 (2) ◽

pp. 285 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Y. Gan ◽

S. S. Malhi ◽

S. Brandt ◽

F. Katepa-Mupondwa ◽

C. Stevenson

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Uptake ◽

Nitrogen Use Efficiency ◽

Nitrogen Use ◽

Use Efficiency

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A computational history and outlook of nitrogen use efficiency and precipitation-optimal fertilisation timings in agriculture

10.5194/ismc2021-11 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel McKay Flecher ◽

Siul Ruiz ◽

Tiago Dias ◽

Katherine Williams ◽

Chiara Petroselli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Nitrogen Uptake ◽

Nitrogen Use Efficiency ◽

Nitrogen Efficiency ◽

Nitrogen Use ◽

Plant Nitrogen ◽

Nitrogen Fertilisation ◽

Plant Nitrogen Uptake ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

Rainfall Patterns

Half of the nitrogen applied to arable-fields is lost through several processes linked to soil moisture. Low soil moisture limits nitrogen mobility reducing nitrogen-uptake while wetter conditions can increase nitrogen leaching. Rainfall ultimately governs soil moisture and the fate of nitrogen in soil. However, the interaction between rainfall and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) remains poorly understood. We developed a field-scale modelling platform that describes coupled water and nitrogen transport, root growth and uptake, rainfall, the nitrogen-cycle and leaching to assess the NUE of split fertilisations with realistic rainfall patterns. The model was solved for every possible split fertilisation timing in 200+ growing seasons to determine optimal timings. Two previous field trials regarding rainfall and NUE had contrasting results: wetter years have enhanced fertiliser loss and drier years reduced plant nitrogen uptake. By choosing appropriate fertilisation timings in the model we could recreate the two contrasting trends and maintain variability in the data. However, we found by choosing other fertilisation timings we could mitigate the leaching in wetter years. Optimised timings could increase plant nitrogen uptake by up to 35% compared to the mean in dry years. Plant uptake was greatest under drier conditions due to mitigated leaching, but less likely to occur due to low nitrogen mobility. Optimal fertilisation timings varied dramatically depending on the rainfall patterns. Historic and projected rainfall patterns from 1950-2069 were used in the model. We found optimal NUE has a decrease from 2022-2040 due to increased heavy rainfall events and optimal fertilisation timings are later in the season but varied largely on a season-to-season basis. The results are a step towards achieving improved nitrogen efficiency in agriculture by using the &#8216;at the right time&#8217; agronomic-strategy in the &#8216;4Rs&#8217; of improved nitrogen fertilisation. Our results can help determine nitrogen fertilisation timings in changing climates.

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Effects of Irrigation and Nitrogen Fertilization on Nitrogen Uptake and Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Wheat on a Clay Terrace Soil of Bangladesh

Journal of the Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University ◽

10.5109/24380 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

pp. 309-316

Author(s):

Ataur Rahman M. ◽

Sirajul A. J. M. Karim ◽

A. Solaiman R. M. ◽

Kazuhiko Egashira

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Uptake ◽

Nitrogen Use Efficiency ◽

Nitrogen Fertilization ◽

Nitrogen Use ◽

Use Efficiency

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Nitrogen Use Efficiency: Farming Practices and Sustainability

Journal of Experimental Agriculture International ◽

10.9734/jeai/2019/v36i330235 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Muhammad Haroon ◽

Fahad Idrees ◽

Hamza Armghan Naushahi ◽

Rabail Afzal ◽

Muhammad Usman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Crop Yield ◽

Nitrogen Use Efficiency ◽

Soil Profile ◽

Human Population ◽

Soil Microbes ◽

Farming Practices ◽

Nitrogen Use ◽

Developmental Processes ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

Food Challenges

It is expected that up to 2050, human population will be doubled. Agricultural researchers are striving their best to meet the food challenges. To get the higher yield, nitrogenous fertilizers use is also being increased. Nitrogenous fertilizers play vital roles in different plant’s growth and developmental processes. But, excessive use of nitrogen is no more beneficial to plants. Only 30 to 50% nitrogen use efficiency is recorded in plants, the remaining nitrogen is used by soil microbes, leached down in soil profile or volatilized. Different agronomical practices have been practiced and suggested for the general cultivation. Proper use of these agronomical practices can increase the crop yield and nitrogen use efficiency.

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Physiological and molecular interventions for improving nitrogen-use efficiency in maize.

Molecular breeding in wheat, maize and sorghum: strategies for improving abiotic stress tolerance and yield ◽

10.1079/9781789245431.0019 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 325-339

Author(s):

Ishwar Singh ◽

Krishan Kumar ◽

Prabha Singh ◽

Pranjal Yadava ◽

Sujay Rakshit

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Use Efficiency ◽

Nitrate Assimilation ◽

Root System Architecture ◽

Utilization Efficiency ◽

Nitrogen Use ◽

Nitrogen Uptake Efficiency ◽

New Genes ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

Future Direction ◽

Root Nitrogen

Abstract This chapter discusses (i) the importance of nitrogen in plant growth and development, (ii) what is nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) and how to manage it, (iii) traits influencing nitrogen-uptake efficiency including root system architecture, root nitrogen transporter system, and interaction with microorganisms, (iv) traits influencing nitrogen-utilization efficiency, such as nitrate assimilation, canopy photosynthesis per unit of nitrogen, (v) identification and use of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) related to NUE, (vi) identification of nitrogen-responsive genes, and (vii) nitrogen signalling and transduction for improving NUE. Intensive research on molecular and genetic aspects of NUE has led to the identification of many new genes, QTLs and alleles that could be deployed to develop new genotypes. The future direction of the research efforts should be towards understanding the interaction of NUE-related genes with cellular small RNA flux and perturbing the system performance through metabolic engineering and genome editing techniques.

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