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Growth, morphological and physiological responses of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) to phosphorus supply in two alkaline soils

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Abstract

Background and aims

Phosphorus (P) deficiency is a major problem for alfalfa (Medicago sativa) productivity on alkaline soils on the Loess Plateau, China. Our aim was to investigate growth, morphological and physiological responses of alfalfa to P supply in two alkaline soils when water supply is limited.

Methods

A pot experiment was carried out to grow alfalfa in two alkaline soils supplied with different rates of P. Parameters of plant growth and root morphology, rhizosphere pH and carboxylates, and plant concentrations of mineral nutrients were measured.

Results

Plant growth and nutrient uptake were enhanced by supplying P, but shoot growth was not further increased when P supply was >20 μg P g−1 soil. Specific root length was only responsive to changes in soil P when P supply was low in the loessial soil. The rhizosphere carboxylate amount was significantly greater when no P was supplied than when P was supplied to the loessial soil. The rhizosphere pH was lower than the bulk soil pH, but did not vary with soil P.

Conclusions

A P supply of 20 μg P g−1 soil was optimal for alfalfa growth. The responses of specific root length and rhizosphere carboxylates depended on soil type.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41301570), the West Light Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China

    Honghua He, Chenbin Fan & Xingchang Zhang

  2. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China

    Honghua He, Qi Peng, Xia Wang & Xingchang Zhang

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Qi Peng & Xia Wang

  4. School of Agriculture and Environment, and Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Jiayin Pang

  5. School of Biological Sciences, and Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Honghua He & Hans Lambers

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  1. Honghua He
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  2. Qi Peng
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  3. Xia Wang
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  6. Hans Lambers
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Correspondence to Honghua He.

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He, H., Peng, Q., Wang, X. et al. Growth, morphological and physiological responses of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) to phosphorus supply in two alkaline soils. Plant Soil 416, 565–584 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3242-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3242-9

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