Desenvolvimento radicular e influxo de nitrogênio em duas cultivares de arroz

An experiment was carried out to evaluate the genotypical differences on rates of nitrogen absorption, as related to root developmental patterns, on two rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars. The cultivars IAC 4440 and Comum Branco, adapted to irrigated and upland tillage respectively, were grown in nutrient solution, when seven harvests were performed at ten days intervals. Regardless the narrow differences between cultivars on root dry mass production, IAC 4440 showed greater total root surface area, with finer roots and higher specific root area, as a consequence of a more intensive tillering, associated with higher nitrogen concentration in leaves and stems. Nitrogen influxes into roots were significantly higher in Comum Branco between 35 and 55 days after planting, when differences on root developmental patterns of cultivars have initiated. The lower nitrogen influx of IAC 4440 was compensated by its greater production of root area, resulting in similar nitrogen accumulation rates on both cultivars.Foi conduzido um experimento para avaliar as diferenças genotípicas nas taxas de absorção de nitrogênio, associadas aos padrões de desenvolvimento radicular, em duas cultivares de arroz (Oryza sativa L.). As cultivares IAC 4440 e Comum Branco, adaptadas, respectivamente, ao cultivo sob irrigação e sequeiro, foram crescidas em solução nutritiva, efetuando-se sete coletas em intervalos de dez dias. Apesar das pequenas diferenças entre as cultivares na produção de massa seca radicular, IAC 4440 apresentou maior área radicular total, com raízes mais finas e maior área radicular específica, como conseqüência de um maior perfilhamento, associado a maiores teores de nitrogênio em folhas e colmos. Os influxos radiculares de nitrogênio foram significativamente superiores em Comum Branco entre 35 e 55 dias após plantio, estádio em que principiaram as diferenças nos padrões de desenvolvimento radicular das cultivares. O menor influxo de nitrogênio em IAC 4440 foi compensado pela maior produção de área radicular, resultando em taxas de acumulação de nitrogênio similares nas duas cultivares

Relações entre crescimento vegetativo e acúmulo de nitrogênio em duas cultivares de arroz com arquiteturas contrastantes The relationship between vegetative growth and nitrogen accumulation in two rice cultivars with contrasting architecture

Foram estudados, mediante análise do crescimento, o acúmulo de biomassa e nitrogênio (N) e sua eficiência de utilização, durante o estádio de crescimento vegetativo, em duas cultivares de arroz (Oryza sativa L.) com arquiteturas contrastantes: IAC-4440, cultivar do grupo moderno para inundação, e Comum Branco, cultivar local rústica de sequeiro. Em experimento com solução nutritiva, foram efetuadas sete coletas, dos 25 aos 85 dias de crescimento, quando foram quantificados a área foliar, a massa seca e o conteúdo de N nas porções vegetativas. A cultivar IAC apresentou maiores valores de biomassa na fase inicial do crescimento, enquanto Comum Branco maiores valores na fase final do experimento. IAC-4440 teve maiores área foliar, área foliar específica e relação raiz: parte aérea do que Comum Branco. As cultivares tiveram o mesmo acúmulo total de N, mas Comum Branco apresentou valores superiores na taxa de assimilação líquida e na taxa de utilização específica de N, indicando melhor utilização do N absorvido. As maiores taxas de crescimento de Comum Branco estiveram associadas aos seus maiores teores de N por unidade de área foliar, mas não aos teores de N por unidade de massa foliar, superiores em IAC-4440. Os resultados indicam que uma cultivar local rústica de arroz pode servir como fonte de eficiência para utilização de N.<br>Accumulation of biomass and nitrogen (N) during the vegetative growth stage and N utilization efficiency were evaluated using plant growth analysis in two rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars with contrasting architecture: IAC-4440, a modern lowland cultivar, and Comum Branco, a rustic upland cultivar. An experiment with nutrient solution involved seven harvests that took place in the 25 to 85 growth-days period, where leaf area, dry mass, and N content in vegetative plant parts were measured. Cultivar IAC had higher biomass at the beginning of the growth cycle, whereas Comum Branco had higher values at the end of the experiment. IAC-4440 had greater leaf area, specific leaf area and root-to-shoot ratio than Comum Branco. The cultivars accumulated the same amount of N, but Comum Branco showed greater net assimilation rate and specific N utilization rate, indicating greater utilization of the N absorbed. Higher growth rates of Comum Branco were associated with higher N concentration per unit leaf area, but not with N concentration per unit leaf mass which were superior in IAC-4440. These results indicate that a local rustic cultivar of rice can provide a source of N utilization efficiency

Nodulation in <em>Dimorphandra wilsonii</em> Rizz. (Caesalpinioideae), a Threatened Species Native to the Brazilian Cerrado

<div><p>The threatened caesalpinioid legume <em>Dimorphandra wilsonii</em>, which is native to the Cerrado biome in Brazil, was examined for its nodulation and N₂-fixing ability, and was compared with another, less-threatened species, <em>D. jorgei</em>. Nodulation and potential N₂ fixation was shown on seedlings that had been inoculated singly with five bradyrhizobial isolates from mature <em>D. wilsonii</em> nodules. The infection of <em>D. wilsonii</em> by two of these strains (Dw10.1, Dw12.5) was followed in detail using light and transmission electron microscopy, and was compared with that of <em>D. jorgei</em> by <em>Bradyrhizobium</em> strain SEMIA6099. The roots of <em>D. wilsonii</em> were infected via small transient root hairs at 42 d after inoculation (dai), and nodules were sufficiently mature at 63 dai to express nitrogenase protein. Similar infection and nodule developmental processes were observed in <em>D. jorgei</em>. The bacteroids in mature <em>Dimorphandra</em> nodules were enclosed in plant cell wall material containing a homogalacturonan (pectic) epitope that was recognized by the monoclonal antibody JIM5. Analysis of sequences of their <em>rrs</em> (16S rRNA) genes and their ITS regions showed that the five <em>D. wilsonii</em> strains, although related to SEMIA6099, may constitute five undescribed species of genus <em>Bradyrhizobium</em>, whilst their <em>nodD</em> and <em>nifH</em> gene sequences showed that they formed clearly separated branches from other rhizobial strains. This is the first study to describe in full the N₂-fixing symbiotic interaction between defined rhizobial strains and legumes in the sub-family Caesalpinioideae. This information will hopefully assist in the conservation of the threatened species <em>D. wilsonii</em>.</p> </div