Abstract
There are many ways in which plants can adapt or respond to nutrient stress. These can be via alterations to root branching and root extension rates, rate of uptake per unit root length or root dry weight, partitioning between roots and shoots and between shoots and grain and the amount or concentration of the nutrient required for plants to function. Each of these can be altered to some extent by selection, breeding or biotechnology.
In undertaking such programs the question arises as to how to measure nutrient efficiency. Examples of the effect of alterations in the definition of P efficiency in white clover and wheat are presented. The efficiency ranking of seven accessions of white clover grown under P stress was found to alter according to the definition used. In addition to the definition of efficiency affecting ranking, the level of P under which the efficiency is defined, ontogeny, and plant competition effects can also affect rankings. In wheat, selection for P harvest index was not found to be related to efficiency.
Clearly, selection or manipulation programs need to consider the end product and for this reason in food and forage production systems the definition of grain yield (crop) or edible dry matter yield (forages) per unit nutrient applied is considered the most appropriate definition. Other definitions are more appropriate in other systems.
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© 1993 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Blair, G. (1993). Nutrient efficiency — what do we really mean?. In: Randall, P.J., Delhaize, E., Richards, R.A., Munns, R. (eds) Genetic Aspects of Plant Mineral Nutrition. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 50. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1650-3_26
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1650-3_26
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