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Nitrogen Transfer Between Plants: A 15N Natural Abundance Study with Crop and Weed Species

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Abstract

An increasing amount of evidence indicates that N can be transferred between plants. Nonetheless, a number of fundamental questions remain. A series of experiments was initiated in the field to examine N transfer between N2-fixing soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) varieties and a non-nodulating soybean, and between N2-fixing peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) or soybean and neighboring weed species. The experiments were conducted in soils with low N fertilities and used differences in N accumulation and/or 15N natural abundance to estimate N transfer. Mixtures of N2-fixing and non-nod soybean indicated that substantial inter-plant N transfer occurred. Amounts were variable, ranging from negligible levels to 48% of the N found in the non-nod at maturity. Transfer did not appear to strongly penalize the N2-fixing donor plants. But, in cases where high amounts of N were transferred, N content of donors was noticeably lowered. Differences were evident in the amount of N transferred from different N2-fixing donor genotypes. Results of experiments with N2-fixing crops and the weed species prickly sida (Sida spinosa L.) and sicklepod (Senna obtusifolia [L.] Irwin & Barneby) also indicated substantial N transfer occurred over a 60-day period, with amounts accounting for 30–80% of the N present in the weeds. Transfer of N, however, was generally very low in weed species that are known to be non-hosts for arbuscular mycorrhizae (yellow nutsedge, Cyperus esculentus L. and Palmer amaranth, Amaranthus palmeri [S.] Watson). The results are consistent with the view that N transfer occurs primarily through mycorrhizal hyphal networks, and they reveal that N transfer may be a contributing factor to weed problems in N2-fixing crops in low N fertility conditions.

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  1. Department of Crop Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695, USA

    K. A. Moyer-Henry & T. W. Rufty

  2. USDA-ARS and Department of Crop Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695, USA

    J. W. Burton

  3. USDA-ARS and Department of Soil Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695, USA

    D. W. Israel

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  1. K. A. Moyer-Henry
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Moyer-Henry, K.A., Burton, J.W., Israel, D.W. et al. Nitrogen Transfer Between Plants: A 15N Natural Abundance Study with Crop and Weed Species. Plant Soil 282, 7–20 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-005-3081-y

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