Biological Nitrification Inhibition—A Novel Strategy to Regulate Nitrification in Agricultural Systems

Human activity has had the single largest influence on the global nitrogen (N) cycle by introducing unprecedented amounts of reactive-N into ecosystems. A major portion of this reactive-N, applied as fertilizer to crops, leaks into the environment with cascading negative effects on ecosystem functions and contributes to global warming. Natural ecosystems use multiple pathways of the N-cycle to regulate the flow of this element. By contrast, the large amounts of N currently applied in agricultural systems cycle primarily through the nitrification process, a single inefficient route that allows much of the reactive-N to leak into the environment. The fact that present agricultural systems do not channel this reactive-N through alternate pathways is largely due to uncontrolled soil nitrifier activity, creating a rapid nitrifying soil environment. Regulating nitrification is therefore central to any strategy for improving nitrogen-use efficiency. Biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) is an active plant-mediated natural function, where nitrification inhibitors released from plant roots suppress soil-nitrifying activity, thereby forcing N into other pathways. This review illustrates the presence of detection methods for variation in physiological regulation of BNI-function in field crops and pasture grasses and analyzes the potential for its genetic manipulation. We present a conceptual framework utilizing a BNI-platform that integrates diverse crop science disciplines with ecological principles. Sustainable agriculture will require development of production systems that include new crop cultivars capable of controlling nitrification (i.e., high BNI-capacity) and improved agronomic practices to minimize leakage of reactive-N during the N-cycle, a critical requirement for increasing food production while avoiding environmental damage

Criteria for assessment of the residual value of fertilizer phosphorus

Sorghum yield and P uptake response data from a field experiment conducted at the ICRISAT farm, Patancheru (near Hyderabad) consecutively for four years (1987–1990) were used for determining the residual value of fertilizer P under rainfed cropping on a Vertisol acutely deficient in P. There were seasonal differences in the residual values of P. But more importantly, the residual P value varied depending on the criteria employed for crop response. On an average, the residual value of fertilizer P in the succeeding season was 52 per cent as effective as the fresh P when dry matter yield response was used as the criterion. The residual value of applied P was found to be 47 per cent as effective using grain yield response as the criterion, and the residual P was only 35 per cent as effective as the fresh P when total P uptake response was used as the criterion. It is suggested that the dry matter yield response of sorghum is a simple and practical criterion for determining the residual value of fertilizer P under rainfed cropping

Macro‐ and micronutrients removed by upland and lowland rice cultivars in West Africa

Plant analysis is an important component of soil fertility and plant nutrition research. Plant analysis at harvest of the crop forms the basis for constructing nutrient balances and assessing the nutrient needs of production systems. Amounts of macro‐ and micronutrient elements removed by improved, upland and lowland rice cultivars were determined in field experiments at two sites in Ivory Coast. Amounts of nitrogen (N), zinc (Zn), and manganese (Mn) removed for 11 rice grain yield by upland and lowland rice cultivars were similar, but the amounts of phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) removed were higher for lowland than upland rice. The nutrient element harvest indexes (amount in grain/amount in grain plus straw) varied between the cultivars, but more importantly, among nutrient elements. On average the nutrient harvest index was highest for P (69%) and lowest for K (10%). The results suggest that the nutrient requirement of rice for K can be met to a large extent through the recycling of K in rice straw. The amounts of other major nutrients, N and P in the straw were small and hence less scope for supplying these nutrients through the recycling of rice straw

Determining fertilizer phosphorus requirement of upland rice

Assessing the fertilizer phosphorus requirement (FPR) of crops is an important component of research for efficient and rational use of fertilizers. Soil and plant tests are used to determine the FPR of crops. Two methods were evaluated for determining the FPR of upland rice grown on an Ultisol in the humid forest zone of Cote d'Ivoire. The first method used a simple model based on P uptake using the equation: FPR=(Up‐U0)/PRF, where Up is P uptake at a given yield, Uo is P uptake from unfertilized soil, and PRF is the P recovery fraction of applied P. The parameters, U0, Up, and FPR were determined in field experiments for the rice cultivars grown on an Ultisol under rainfed upland conditions. The second method was based on the P applied, P uptake, and grain yield relationships for upland rice. First, P uptake at a given rice yield was determined from the relationship between total P uptake and grain yield. The amount of fertilizer P applied for the given P uptake and grain yield was then, determined from the relationship between P applied and P uptake. There was a good agreement between the observed values of FPR and the predicted values of FPR determined by the two methods. The results suggest that the simple model based on P uptake can be utilized for determining the fertilizer P requirements of crops

Elemental composition of the rice plant as affected by iron toxicity under field conditions

Iron (Fe) toxicity is a major nutrient disorder affecting the production of wetland rice in the humid zone of West Africa. Little attention has been given to determining the macro‐ and micronutrient composition of rice plants grown on wetland soils where Fe toxicity is present although results from such study could provide useful information about the involvement of other nutrients in the occurrence of Fe toxicity. A field experiment was conducted in the 1997 dry season (January‐May) at an Fe toxic site in Korhogo, Ivory Coast, to determine the elemental composition of Fe tolerant (CK 4) and susceptible (Bouake 189) lowland rice varieties without and with application of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and zinc (Zn). For both Fe‐tolerant and susceptible varieties, there were no differences in elemental composition of the whole plant rice tops, sampled at 30 and 60 days after transplanting rice seedlings, except for Fe. All the other nutrient element concentrations were adequate. Both Fe‐tolerant and susceptible cultivars had a high Fe content, well above the critical limit (300 mg Fe kg‐1 plant dry wt). These results along with our observations on the elemental composition of rice plant samples collected from several wetland swamp soils with Fe toxicity in West Africa suggest that “real”; iron toxicity is a single nutrient (Fe) toxicity and not a multiple nutrient deficiency stress