Abstract
The use of fertilisers in agriculture and horticulture is the key to production of sufficient food (including the fodder for animals) to maintain the global human population (currently 6 billion; Evans 1998) and to permit its continued rapid growth to the expected 10 or even 12 billion (Bumb 1995). Nitrogen in a form which can be used by plants is essential to crop production, and application of N fertilisers, produced industrially by chemical reduction of atmospheric (gaseous) nitrogen, has enabled the enormous and unprecedented expansion of the world’s human population and the food supply (Bacon 1995; Evans 1998). The increased nitrogen supply is probably a consequence of population driven technological advances, in a complex interaction which is poorly understood (Evans 1998). Phosphate and potassium are also essential elements whose supply may not be sustainable in the longterm, as they are mined. However, the role of N in crop production is a critical aspect of crop production. Understanding the mechanisms by which crops respond to nitrogen is the key to maintaining and improving crop growth and yield, and the efficiency with which N is used and other resources also (Sinclair and Horie 1989; Bock and Hergert 1991; Lawlor et al. 1989; Grindlay 1997). This review analyses crop responses to N supply and integrates our knowledge of subcellular, cellular and organ processes to clarify the needs for N by plants and problems of quantification.
Keywords
- Crop Yield
- Harvest Index
- Tall Fescue
- Light Interception
- Unit Leaf Area
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Lawlor, D.W., Lemaire, G., Gastal, F. (2001). Nitrogen, Plant Growth and Crop Yield. In: Lea, P.J., Morot-Gaudry, JF. (eds) Plant Nitrogen. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04064-5_13
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