Browsing by Subject "Stomatal conductance"

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Biochar and slow-releasing nitrogen fertilizers improved growth, nitrogen use, yield, and fiber quality of cotton under arid climatic conditions
(2021) Manzoor, Sobia; Habib-ur-Rahman, Muhammad; Haider, Ghulam; Ghafoor, Iqra; Ahmad, Saeed; Afzal, Muhammad; Nawaz, Fahim; Iqbal, Rashid; Yasin, Mubashra; ul Haq, Tanveer; Danish, Subhan; Ghaffar, Abdul
The efficiency of nitrogenous fertilizers in South Asia is on a declining trajectory due to increased losses. Biochar (BC) and slow-releasing nitrogen fertilizers (SRNF) have been found to improve nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in certain cases. However, field-scale studies to explore the potential of BC and SRNF in south Asian arid climate are lacking. Here we conducted a field experiment in the arid environment to demonstrate the response of BC and SRNF on cotton growth and yield quality. The treatments were comprised of two factors, (A) nitrogen sources, (i) simple urea, (ii)neem-coated urea, (iii)sulfur-coated urea, (iv) bacterial coated urea, and cotton stalks biochar impregnated with simple urea, and (B) nitrogen application rates, N1=160 kg ha-1, N2 = 120 kg ha-1, and N3 = 80 kg ha-1. Different SRNF differentially affected cotton growth, morphological and physiological attributes, and seed cotton yield (SCY). The bacterial coated urea at the highest rate of N application (160 kg ha-1) resulted in a higher net leaf photosynthetic rate (32.8 μmol m-2 s-1), leaf transpiration rate (8.10 mmol s-1), and stomatal conductance (0.502 mol m-2 s-1), while leaf area index (LAI), crop growth rate (CGR), and seed cotton yield (4513 kg ha-1) were increased by bacterial coated urea at 120 kg ha-1 than simple urea. However, low rate N application (80 kg ha-1) of bacterial coated urea showed higher nitrogen use efficiency (39.6 kg SCY kg-1 N). The fiber quality (fiber length, fiber strength, ginning outturn, fiber index, and seed index) was also increased with the high N application rates than N2 and N3 application. To summarize, the bacterial coated urea with recommended N (160 kg ha-1) and 75% of recommended N application (120 kg ha-1) may be recommended for farmers in the arid climatic conditions of Punjab to enhance the seed cotton yield, thereby reducing nitrogen losses.
Leaf gas exchange of lowland rice in response to nitrogen source and vapor pressure deficit
(2021) Vu, Duy Hoang; Stürz, Sabine; Pieters, Alejandro; Asch, Folkard
Background: In anaerobic lowland fields, ammonium (NH4+) is the dominant form of nitrogen (N) taken up by rice plants, however, with the large expansion of water-saving irrigation practices, nitrification is favored during drained periods, leading to an increased availability of nitrate (NO3−). Aim: Since the uptake and assimilation of the two N-sources differ in their demand of pho- tosynthates, leaf gas exchange may be subject to adjustments in response to N-sources, particularly at high evaporative demand, when stomatal conductance (gs ) is very sensitive. Methods: Three experiments were carried out to study leaf gas exchange of various low- land rice varieties in response to N-source at low and high vapor pressure deficit (VPD). In the first experiment, seedlings of 12 rice varieties were grown at high VPD for 3 weeks. From this, four rice varieties differing in gs and CO2 assimilation rate (A) were selected and grown for 2 weeks at low VPD, and after that, they were shifted to high VPD for 1 week, whereas in the third experiment, the same varieties were grown separately at low and high VPD conditions for 2 weeks. In all three experiments, plants were grown hydroponi- cally in nutrient solution with N-sources as sole NH4+ or NO3−. Results: At high VPD, NO3− nutrition led to a higher gs and A in four out of 12 vari- eties (IR64, BT7, NU838, and Nipponbare) relative to NH4+ nutrition, while no effect was observed at low VPD or after a short-term exposure to high VPD. Further, varieties with a high intrinsic water-use efficiency (WUEi; IR64 and BT7) showed the strongest response to N-source. Higher gs was partially supported by increased root/shoot ratio, but could not be fully explained by the measured parameters. However, higher A in NO3−-fed plants did not always result in increased plant dry matter, which is probably related to the higher energy demand for NO3− assimilation. Our results suggest that at high VPD, NO3− nutri- tion can improve leaf gas exchange in varieties having a high WUEi, provided a sufficient water supply. Conclusion: Therefore, intensified nitrification under water-saving irrigation measures may improve leaf gas exchange and the growth of rice plants under high transpirational demand. However, choice of variety seems crucial since large varietal differences were observed in response to N-source. Further, breeding strategies for genotypes adapted to aerobic soil conditions should consider responses to NO3−, potentially using gas exchange measurements as a screening tool.
Thermal imaging for assessment of maize water stress and yield prediction under drought conditions
(2022) Pradawet, Chukiat; Khongdee, Nuttapon; Pansak, Wanwisa; Spreer, Wolfram; Hilger, Thomas; Cadisch, Georg
Maize production in Thailand is increasingly suffering from drought periods along the cropping season. This creates the need for rapid and accurate methods to detect crop water stress to prevent yield loss. The study was, therefore, conducted to improve the efficacy of thermal imaging for assessing maize water stress and yield prediction. The experiment was carried out under controlled and field conditions in Phitsanulok, Thailand. Five treatments were applied, including (T1) fully irrigated treatment with 100% of crop water requirement (CWR) as control; (T2) early stress with 50% of CWR from 20 days after sowing (DAS) until anthesis and subsequent rewatering; (T3) sustained deficit at 50% of CWR from 20 DAS until harvest; (T4) late stress with 100% of CWR until anthesis and 50% of CWR after anthesis until harvest; (T5) late stress with 100% of CWR until anthesis and no irrigation after anthesis. Canopy temperature (FLIR), crop growth and soil moisture were measured at 5‐day‐intervals. Under controlled conditions, early water stress significantly reduced maize growth and yield. Water deficit after anthesis had no significant effect. A new combination of wet/dry sponge type reference surfaces was used for the determination of the Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI). There was a strong relationship between CWSI and stomatal conductance (R² = 0.90), with a CWSI of 0.35 being correlated to a 64%‐yield loss. Assessing CWSI at 55 DAS, that is, at tasseling, under greenhouse conditions corresponded best to the final maize yield. This linear regression model validated well in both maize lowland (R² = 0.94) and maize upland fields (R² = 0.97) under the prevailing variety, soil and climate conditions. The results demonstrate that, using improved standardized references and data acquisition protocols, thermal imaging CWSI monitoring according to critical phenological stages enables yield prediction under drought stress.