Nitrogen fluxes at the root-soil interface show a mismatch of nitrogen fertilizer supply and sugarcane root uptake capacity.

ABSTRACT: Globally only ≈50% of applied nitrogen (N) fertilizer is captured by crops, and the remainder can cause pollution via runoff and gaseous emissions. Synchronizing soil N supply and crop demand will address this problem, however current soil analysis methods provide little insight into delivery and acquisition of N forms by roots. We used microdialysis, a novel technique for in situ quantification of soil nutrient fluxes, to measure N fluxes in sugarcane cropping soils receiving different fertilizer regimes, and compare these with N uptake capacities of sugarcane roots. We show that in fertilized sugarcane soils, fluxes of inorganic N exceed the uptake capacities of sugarcane roots by several orders of magnitude. Contrary, fluxes of organic N closely matched roots' uptake capacity. These res

SUBMITTER: Brackin R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4620560 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature