The Effects of Inorganic Nitrogen form and CO2CO_2 Concentration on Wheat Yield and Nutrient Accumulation and Distribution

Inorganic N is available to plants from the soil as ammonium ($NH^+_4$) and nitrate ($NO^-_3$). We studied how wheat grown hydroponically to senescence in controlled environmental chambers is affected by N form ($NH^+_4$ vs. $NO^-_3$) and $CO_2$ concentration (“subambient,” “ambient,” and “elevated”) in terms of biomass, yield, and nutrient accumulation and partitioning. Wheat supplied with $NH^+_4$ as a sole N source had the strongest response to $CO_2$ concentration. Plants exposed to subambient and ambient $CO_2$ concentrations typically had the greatest biomass and nutrient accumulation under both N forms. In general $NH^+_4$-supplied plants had higher concentrations of total N, P, K, S, Ca, Zn, Fe, and Cu, while $NO^-_3$-supplied plants had higher concentrations of Mg, B, Mn, and $NO^-_3$ - N. $NH^+_4$-supplied plants contained amounts of phytate similar to $NO^-_3$-supplied plants but had higher bioavailable Zn, which could have consequences for human health. $NH^+_4$-supplied plants allocated more nutrients and biomass to aboveground tissues whereas $NO^+_3$-supplied plants allocated more nutrients to the roots. The two inorganic nitrogen forms influenced plant growth and nutrient status so distinctly that they should be treated as separate nutrients. Moreover, plant growth and nutrient status varied in a non-linear manner with atmospheric $CO_2$ concentration

Impacts of elevated atmospheric CO₂ on nutrient content of important food crops.

One of the many ways that climate change may affect human health is by altering the nutrient content of food crops. However, previous attempts to study the effects of increased atmospheric CO2 on crop nutrition have been limited by small sample sizes and/or artificial growing conditions. Here we present data from a meta-analysis of the nutritional contents of the edible portions of 41 cultivars of six major crop species grown using free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) technology to expose crops to ambient and elevated CO2 concentrations in otherwise normal field cultivation conditions. This data, collected across three continents, represents over ten times more data on the nutrient content of crops grown in FACE experiments than was previously available. We expect it to be deeply useful to future studies, such as efforts to understand the impacts of elevated atmospheric CO2 on crop macro- and micronutrient concentrations, or attempts to alleviate harmful effects of these changes for the billions of people who depend on these crops for essential nutrients

Impacts of elevated atmospheric CO2 on nutrient content of important food crops

One of the many ways that climate change may affect human health is by altering the nutrient content of food crops. However, previous attempts to study the effects of increased atmospheric CO2 on crop nutrition have been limited by small sample sizes and/or artificial growing conditions. Here we present data from a meta-analysis of the nutritional contents of the edible portions of 41 cultivars of six major crop species grown using free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) technology to expose crops to ambient and elevated CO2 concentrations in otherwise normal field cultivation conditions. This data, collected across three continents, represents over ten times more data on the nutrient content of crops grown in FACE experiments than was previously available. We expect it to be deeply useful to future studies, such as efforts to understand the impacts of elevated atmospheric CO2 on crop macro- and micronutrient concentrations, or attempts to alleviate harmful effects of these changes for the billions of people who depend on these crops for essential nutrients

A Substantial Fraction of Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Low Phytic Acid Mutations Have Little or No Effect on Yield across Diverse Production Environments

The potential benefits of the low phytic acid (lpa) seed trait for human and animal nutrition, and for phosphorus management in non-ruminant animal production, are well documented. However, in many cases the lpa trait is associated with impaired seed or plant performance, resulting in reduced yield. This has given rise to the perception that the lpa trait is tightly correlated with reduced yield in diverse crop species. Here we report a powerful test of this correlation. We measured grain yield in lines homozygous for each of six barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) lpa mutations that greatly differ in their seed phytic acid levels. Performance comparisons were between sibling wild-type and mutant lines obtained following backcrossing, and across two years in five Idaho (USA) locations that greatly differ in crop yield potential. We found that one lpa mutation (Hvlpa1-1) had no detectable effect on yield and a second (Hvlpa4-1) resulted in yield losses of only 3.5%, across all locations. When comparing yields in three relatively non-stressful production environments, at least three lpa mutations (Hvlpa1-1, Hvlpa3-1, and Hvlpa4-1) typically had yields similar to or within 5% of the wild-type sibling isoline. Therefore in the case of barley, lpa mutations can be readily identified that when simply incorporated into a cultivar result in adequately performing lines, even with no additional breeding for performance within the lpa line. In conclusion, while some barley lpa mutations do impact field performance, a substantial fraction appears to have little or no effect on yield

Phytic Acid In Developing And Mature Seed Of Soybean (glycine Max (l.) Merr.) And Glycine Soja Sieb. & Zucc. (phosphorus, Zinc, Nutrition)

138 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1984.Soybean {Glycine max (L.) Merr.} and G. soja Sieb. & Zucc. germplasm collections were surveyed for variation in the concentration of the seed phosphorus (P) storage compound, phytic acid. Seed of the soybean lines contained from 13.9 to 23.0 mg g('-1) phytic acid, while seed of the G. soja lines contained from 18.8 to 27.7 mg g('-1) phytic acid. Most of the variation in seed P was due to variation in phytic acid P, with little variation in non-phytic acid P observed among lines within species. High yielding soybean cultivars tended to have the lowest concentrations of phytic acid. Phytic acid was highly correlated with seed protein among soybean lines (r = +0.74). The phytic acid:zinc molar ratio in the seed of the lines surveyed ranged from 26 to 44.Twelve soybean cultivars were grown in three locations with available soil P concentrations ranging from 41 to 120 mg P kg('-1). Ninety-eight per cent of the variation in phytic acid due to environment could be attributed to a positive linear relationship between available soil P and phytic acid. Soybean and G. soja plants were grown in sand culture to study the relationships among nutrient P level, vegetative P concentration, and the phytic acid concentration of the seed. A close relationship between vegetative P concentration during reproductive growth and the phytic acid concentration of seed was observed. Compared to soybean plants, G. soja plants had higher concentrations of vegetative P, paralleling their higher concentrations of phytic acid. Plants grown with nutrient P at 22.4 or 50.0 mg P L('-1) had phytic acid concentrations similar to those observed for field grown plants. Reducing the nutrient P to 2.4 mg P L('-1) resulted in seeds with a greatly reduced phytic acid concentration (4.6 mg g('-1)). No effect of reduced phytic acid concentration on seed viability was observed. These results support the feasibility of breeding for reduced phytic acid.The time-course of phytic acid accumulation during soybean seed development was studied. Phytic acid accumulation was linear with time throughout the linear phase of seed dry weight gain. Nearly all P translocated to the developing seed during this growth phase was incorporated into phytic acid. A positive relationship between nutrient P level and the rate of phytic acid P accumulation was observed for plants grown in sand culture.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD