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Nitrogen-utilization efficiency in rice: an analysis at leaf, shoot, and whole-plant level

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Abstract

Aims

If rice has a higher nitrogen use efficiency for dry matter production (NUE) and grain yield (NUEGY) than wild annuals, we may question whether the higher NUE is due to a higher productivity per plant N (NP) or a longer retention time of plant N (MRT) or both, and whether the higher NUEGY results also from a higher harvest index (HI).

Methods

Stands of rice were established at three N levels. Censuses were done for birth and death of every shoot and leaf from germination to full maturity. Nitrogen uptake, dry matter production, grain yield, HI, NUE, and NUEGY were determined at shoot and whole-plant levels.

Results

Rice had a higher NUE, NUEGY and NP, but hardly higher plant-N MRT and HI than wild annuals. Leaf-N MRT was higher than leaf longevity in fertile shoots, while the opposite was true in sterile tillers. Shoot NUEGY was higher in late tillers due to higher HI.

Conclusions

High NUE of rice results from its high NP, not from high MRT at both whole-plant and leaf levels. Revenues gained from enhancing MRT would have been lower than the opportunity costs of reducing NP. N recycles between shoots. Sterile tillers function as an N storage for grain yield in fertile shoots.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Kouki Hikosaka, Tadahiko Mae, and Amane Makino for discussion and comments on an earlier draft; Toshihiro Hasegawa and Hidemitsu Sakai of the National Institute of Agro-Environmental Sciences for supply of rice seeds and advice on rice cultivation; and Hitomi Yoshida for chemical analysis. We appreciate Niels Anten and an anonymous referee whose comments were useful for improving the manuscript. We are also grateful for the support of the staff members and students of the Laboratory for Agricultural Environmental Studies, Tokyo University of Agriculture. This work was funded by KAKENHI (no. 21114009, 23770027, 25440230) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

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Author notes

  1. Shimpei Oikawa

    Present address: Department of Biology, Ibaraki University, Mito, 310-8512, Japan

  2. Tadaki Hirose

    Present address: Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of International Agricultural Development, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, 156-8502, Japan

    Takahiro Ogawa, Shimpei Oikawa & Tadaki Hirose

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  1. Takahiro Ogawa
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Correspondence to Tadaki Hirose.

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ESM 1

Table S1: Changes in nitrogen concentration of rice plants. Table S2: Number of leaves produced per shoot, and fraction of nitrogen taken up by the shoot that was allocated to leaf in the main stem and tillers. Fig. S1: Grain yield as a function of leaf area duration and leaf N duration in shoots. (PPTX 118 kb)

Appendix: List of growth variables

Appendix: List of growth variables

Variables

Explanation

Unit

f i (t)

Cumulative production (investment) of leaf variable-i a

[i] b

g i (t)

Cumulative loss of leaf variable-i

[i]

HI

Harvest index, grain yield per DM production

g g−1

LDi

Duration of leaf variable-i

[i] day

LEi

Efficiency of leaf variable-i, DM production per f i (T)

g [i]−1

LMA

Leaf mass per area

g m−2

LNA

Leaf nitrogen per area

g N m−2

LNC

Leaf nitrogen concentration

g N g−1

LNP

Leaf nitrogen productivity

g g−1 N d−1

LNR

Leaf to plant nitrogen ratio

g N g−1N

LPi

Productivity of leaf variable-i

g [i] -1 d−1

MRT

Mean residence time of plant N

d

MRTi

Mean residence time of leaf variable-i

d

N

Plant nitrogen

g N

N L

Leaf nitrogen

g N

NHI

Nitrogen harvest index, grain N per N uptake

g N g−1N

NP

Nitrogen productivity

g g−1 N d−1

NUE

Nitrogen use efficiency, DM production per N uptake

g g−1 N

NUEGY

NUE for grain yield, grain yield per N uptake

g g−1 N

NUR

Nitrogen uptake rate

g N d−1

PN

Plant nitrogen

g N

PND

Plant nitrogen duration

g N d

SLi

Standing mean of leaf variable-i

[i]

t

Time from germination

d

T

Time at the end of growth

d

W

Plant dry mass

g

a i, either leaf number, leaf area, leaf mass, or leaf nitrogen

b [i], either none (leaf number), m2 (leaf area), g (leaf mass), or g N (leaf nitrogen)

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Ogawa, T., Oikawa, S. & Hirose, T. Nitrogen-utilization efficiency in rice: an analysis at leaf, shoot, and whole-plant level. Plant Soil 404, 321–344 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-2832-2

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