Abstract
Selection of plant cultivars tolerant of low nutrient supply may increase productivity on low fertility soils and reduce fertilizer requirements. Considerable effort has been directed towards identifying ‘nutrient efficient’ species and germplasms, but the many different definitions for efficiency make the use of the term ambiguous. The concept of nutrient efficiency was evaluated using data from a study of differences in germplasm response to phosphorus (P) availability in white clover (Trifolium repens L.) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) grown in a sand-alumina culture. Application of various criteria identified in the literature as measures of nutrient efficiency did not clarify differences between purportedly P efficient and inefficient germplasms. Germplasms differed in maximum shoot and total dry mass and in solution P concentration required to achieve 80% maximum yield, but not in tissue P concentration, internal P utilization, or P uptake per unit of fine root dry mass. Differences may have resulted from factors other than efficient use of available P. To reduce the confounding effects that other factors have on nutrient efficiency, we propose that equivalent yields of germplasms be demonstrated where nutrients are not limiting. Mechanisms that enable enhanced nutrient efficiency can be identified less ambiguously using this improved approach.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barber S A 1984 Soil Nutrient Bioavailability. John Wiley and Sons, New York
Baligar V C, Duncan R R, and Fageria N K 1990 Soil-plant interactions on nutrient use efficiency in plants. In Crops as Enhancers of Nutrient Use. Eds. V C Baligar and R R Duncan. pp 351–373. Academic Press, San Diego.
Blair G L 1983 Nutrient efficiency-what do we really mean? In Genetic Aspects of Plant Mineral Nutrition. Eds. P J Randall, E. Haize, R A Richards and R Munson. pp 205–213. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
Blair G J and Cordero S 1978. The phosphorus efficiency of three annual legumes. Plant and Soil 50, 387–398.
Bolan N S, Robson A D and Barrow N J 1983 Plant and soil factors including mycorrhizal infection causing sigmoidal response of plants to applied phosphorus. Plant and Soil 73, 187–201.
Buso G S C and Bliss F A 1988 Variability among lettuce cultivars grown at two levels of available phosphorus. Plant and Soil 111, 67–73.
Caradus J R 1990 Mechanisms improving nutrient use by crop and herbage legumes. In Crops as Enhancers of Nutrient Use. Eds. V C Baligar and R R Duncan. pp 253–311. Academic Press, San Diego.
Clark R B 1990 Physiology of cereals for mineral nutrient uptake, use and efficiency. In Crops as Enhancers of Nutrient Use. Eds. V C Baligar and R R Duncan. pp 131–209. Academic Press, San Diego.
Clarkson D T and Hanson J B 1980 The mineral nutrition of higher plants. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. 31, 239–298.
Coltman R R, Gerloff G C and Gabelman W H 1985 Differential tolerance of tomato strains to maintained and deficient levels of phosphorus. J. Am. Soc. Hortic. Sci. 110, 140–144.
Elliott G C and Läuchli A 1985 Phosphorus efficiency and phosphate-iron interactions in maize. Agron. J. 77, 399–403.
Föhse D, Claassen N and Jungk A 1988 Phosphorus efficiency of plants. Plant and Soil 110, 101–109.
Fox R L 1981 External phosphorus requirements of crops. In Chemistry in the Soil Environment. Eds. R H Dowdy, J A Ryan, V V Volk and D E Baker. pp 223–239. Spec. Publ. No. 40. American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America, Madison.
Fox R L, Saunders W M H and Rajan S S S 1986 Phosphorus nutrition of pasture species: phosphorus requirement and root saturation values. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 50, 142–148.
Gerloff G C 1976 Plant efficiencies in the use of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. In Plant Adaptation to Mineral Stress in Problem Soils. Ed. M J Wright. pp 161–173. Proc. Workshop Plant Stress Laboratory, USDA. Nov. 1976. Beltsville.
Gerloff G C and Gabelman W H 1983 Genetic basis of inorganic plant nutrition. In Encyclopaedia of Plant Physiology. Eds. A L äuchli and R L Bieleski. pp 453–480. New series vol. 15B. Springer Verlag, New York.
Glass A D M 1989 Physiological mechanisms involved with genotypic differences in ion adsorption and utilization. Hort. Sci. 24, 559–564.
Godwin D C and Blair G J 1991 Phosphorus efficiency in pasture species. V. A comparison of white clover accessions. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 42, 531–540.
Gourley C J P, Allan D L and Russelle M P 1993a Differences in response to available phosphorus among white clover cultivars. Agron. J. 85, 296–301.
Gourley C J P, Allan D L, Russelle M P and Bloom P R 1993b Evaluation and improvements of a sand-alumina culture technique to screen plants for low phosphorus tolerance. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 57, 103–110.
Graham R D 1984 Breeding characteristics in cereals. pp. 57–90. In Advances in Plant Nutrition, Vol. 1. Eds. P B Tinker and A Läuchli. Praeger, New York.
Jackson M L 1958 Soil Chemical Analysis. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs. pp 162–165.
Kemp P D and Blair G J 1991 Phosphorus efficiency in pasture species, VI: A comparison of Italian ryegrass, phalaris, red clover, and white clover over time. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 42, 541–558.
Lyness A S 1936 Varietal differences in the phosphorus feeding capacity of plants. Plant Physiol. 11, 665–686.
McLachlan K D 1976 Comparative phosphorus responses in plants to a range of available phosphorus situations. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 27, 323–341.
Miller D, Waissman N, Melton B, Currier C and McCaslin B 1987 Selection for increased phosphorus in alfalfa and effects on other characteristics. Crop Sci. 27, 22–26.
Moll R H, Kamprath E J and Jackson W A 1987 Development of nitrogen-efficient prolific hybrids of maize. Crop Sci. 27, 181–186.
Prescott C E, Corbin J P and Parkinson D 1989 Biomass, productivity, and nutrient-use efficiency of above ground vegetation in four Rocky Mountain coniferous forests. Can. J. For. Res. 19, 309–317.
Ratkowsky D A 1983 Nonlinear Regression Modeling. A Unified Practical Approach. Marcel Dekker, New York.
Sain S L 1990 Bidirectional selection for phosphorus efficiency in alfalfa using hydroponic whole plant and callus tissue culture screening techniques. Ph D dissentation, University of Minnesota.
Saric M R 1982 Theoretical and practical approaches to the genetic specificity of mineral nutrition of plants. In Genetic Specificity of Mineral Nutrition of Plants. Ed. M R Saric. pp 9–20. Proc. Int. Symp. Belgrade.
Sauerbeck D R and Helal H M 1990 Factors affecting the nutrient efficiency of plants. In Genetic Aspects of Plant Mineral Nutrition. Eds. N El Bassam, M Dambroth and B C Loughman pp 11–16. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
Siddiqi M Y and Glass A D 1981 Utilization Index: A modified approach to the estimation and comparison of nutrient utilization efficiency in plants. J. Plant Nutr. 4, 289–302.
Spencer K, Govaars A G and Hely F W 1980 Early phosphorus nutrition of eight forms of two clover species, Trifolium ambiguum and T. repens. N.Z. J. Agric. Res. 23, 457–475.
Thomas R L, R WSheard and J RMoyer 1967 Comparison of conventional and automated procedures for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium analysis of plant material using a single digest. Agron. J. 59, 240–243.
Thung M 1988 Phosphorus: A limiting nutrient in bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) production in Latin America and field screening for efficiency and response. In Genetic Aspects of Plant Mineral Nutrition. Eds. N El Bassam, M C Dambroth and B C Loughman. pp 501–521. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
Wilkins M B 1984 Advanced Plant Physiology. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Wilkinson L 1989 SYSTAT: The Sytem for Statistics, SYSTAT, Evanston.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Joint contribution of the Minnesota Agricultural Experimental Station, USDA-ARS and US Dairy Forage Research Center (Minnesota cluster). Paper No. 20,432 of the Minnesota Science Journal Series.
Joint contribution of the Minnesota Agricultural Experimental Station, USDA-ARS and US Dairy Forage Research Center (Minnesota cluster). Paper No. 20,432 of the Minnesota Science Journal Series.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gourley, C.J.P., Allan, D.L. & Russelle, M.P. Plant nutrient efficiency: A comparison of definitions and suggested improvement. Plant Soil 158, 29–37 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00007914
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00007914