Abstract
Background and aim
With a growing focus on soil health, modern agroecosystems have begun to emphasize greater reliance on organic nitrogen (N) sources to meet crop N demands. Teosinte (Zea mays subsp. parviglumis), a wild relative of modern maize (Zea mays subsp. mays), is believed to modulate its belowground carbon (C) allocation based on the type of N in the soil, thus allowing for greater organic N uptake. However, linkages between belowground allocation and N acquisition from organic vs. synthetic N sources remain poorly understood.
Methods
We designed a 13C/15N dual label experiment in which we compared the C allocation patterns of modern maize and teosinte in response to synthetic (urea) and organic (cover crop residue) forms of N.
Results
Teosinte responded to organic N by increasing its biomass root-to-shoot (R:S) ratio by 50% compared to synthetic N, while modern maize maintained the same biomass R:S ratios in both N treatments. Recent photosynthate R:S ratio (measured using 13C-CO2, 7 weeks after establishment) was greater in organic N than in synthetic N treatments for both modern maize and teosinte (91% and 37%; respectively). Label-derived dissolved organic C, representing recent rhizodeposits, was 2.5 times greater in the organic N treatments for both genotypes.
Conclusion
Modern maize took up a similar amount of organic N as teosinte using different C allocation strategies. Our findings suggest that intensive breeding under high N input conditions has not affected this modern maize hybrid’s access to organic N while improving its ability to take up synthetic N.
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Data availability
The data generated during this project will be made available by the corresponding author upon request.
Abbreviations
- MBC:
-
Microbial biomass carbon
- DOC:
-
Dissolved organic carbon
- MBN:
-
Microbial biomass nitrogen
- TDN:
-
Total dissolved nitrogen
- MAOM:
-
Mineral associated organic matter
- R:S:
-
Root:shoot
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Physics Machine Shop staff for their help with labeling chamber construction; Dr. Ann Hess of Department of Statistics for data analysis assistance; Tad Trimarco, Tayin Wang, and Bo Collins for lab and greenhouse help; EcoCore staff for sample analysis; staff at the Colorado State University Plant Growth Facility for technical support; and staff at the USDA Akron research station for support with collecting soil. We would also like to thank members of the Agroecology lab group and Cotrufo lab group for their valuable inputs before and after the experiment. This project was supported by USDA NIFA postdoctoral fellowship (Award # 2017-67012-26112) awarded to MB Machmuller. We also acknowledge funding from the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research (FFAR) and the Land Institute to support Siwook Hwang as a FFAR fellow while conducting this research.
Funding
This project was supported by USDA NIFA postdoctoral fellowship (Award # 2017–67012-26112) awarded to MB Machmuller. We also acknowledge funding from the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research (FFAR) and the Land Institute to support Siwook Hwang as a FFAR fellow while conducting this research.
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Hwang, S., Machmuller, M.B., Gaudin, A.C.M. et al. A teosinte and modern maize hybrid use different carbon allocation strategies in response to cover crop residue nitrogen. Plant Soil (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-024-06494-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-024-06494-0