Abstract
Aims
A modified sowing pattern (MSP) consisting of wider seedling strips has been shown to improve the nitrogen (N) use efficiency of winter wheat by enhancing N uptake from soil. However, the effects of MSP on root size, 15N-uptake efficiency, and N uptake from different soil depths have not been yet elucidated.
Methods
The seedling strip width in the MSP was 8–10 cm compared with 3–4 cm in the conventional sowing pattern, with a fixed row spacing of 27 cm. Both were used to investigate root size, root spatial distribution, and N uptake from different soil depths.
Results
The increased intra-row spacing of the MSP resulted in increases in the number of tillers and roots and in dry matter per unit area. The total root weight increased due to the higher root/shoot ratio induced by the enhanced nutrient requirements. Together with the increase in root number, the greater total root weight led to increases in root length and surface area, with a constant specific root length and surface area based on the total root weight. The absolute increases in root length and surface area densities declined with soil depth. Root 15N-uptake efficiency based on root length and surface area decreased in the topsoil but increased or remained unchanged in the subsoil.
Conclusions
15N-uptake from each soil layer increased, with the largest increase occurring in the 40 to 80 cm soil layer. Due to the enhanced N uptake, particularly from the subsoil, the MSP may be used to reduce N inputs without penalizing yield.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- CSP:
-
Conventional sowing pattern
- MSP:
-
Modified sowing pattern
- RLD:
-
Root length density
- RSD:
-
Root surface area density
- SRLW :
-
Specific root length based on root dry weight
- SRSL :
-
Specific root surface area based on root length
- SRSW :
-
Specific root surface area based on root dry weight
- NE:
-
15N-uptake efficiency
- NERL :
-
15N-uptake efficiency based on root length
- NERS :
-
15N-uptake efficiency based on root surface area
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to members from Prof. He’s lab for helping with field work. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31801298), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFD0300403), Key Research and Development Program of Shandong Province (LJNY202103) the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2018BC034).
Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31801298), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFD0300403), Key Research and Development Program of Shandong Province (LJNY202103), the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2018BC034).
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Mingrong He and Xinglong Dai designed the research project, funding acquisition, and writing-review & editing; Feina Zheng, Jiyuan Qin, Yifan Hua and Jinpeng Chu performed the field experiment; Feina Zheng performed laboratory analyses, analyzed data, and wrote the manuscript.
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Zheng, F., Qin, J., Hua, Y. et al. Nitrogen uptake of winter wheat from different soil depths under a modified sowing pattern. Plant Soil 487, 533–546 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-05952-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-05952-5