Temporal and Spatial Profiling of Root Growth Revealed Novel Response of Maize Roots under Various Nitrogen Supplies in the Field

A challenge for Chinese agriculture is to limit the overapplication of nitrogen (N) without reducing grain yield. Roots take up N and participate in N assimilation, facilitating dry matter accumulation in grains. However, little is known about how the root system in soil profile responds to various N supplies. In the present study, N uptake, temporal and spatial distributions of maize roots, and soil mineral N (Nmin) were thoroughly studied under field conditions in three consecutive years. The results showed that in spite of transient stimulation of growth of early initiated nodal roots, N deficiency completely suppressed growth of the later-initiated nodal roots and accelerated root death, causing an early decrease in the total root length at the rapid vegetative growth stage of maize plants. Early N excess, deficiency, or delayed N topdressing reduced plant N content, resulting in a significant decrease in dry matter accumulation and grain yield. Notably, N overapplication led to N leaching that stimulated root growth in the 40–50 cm soil layer. It was concluded that the temporal and spatial growth patterns of maize roots were controlled by shoot growth and local soil Nmin, respectively. Improving N management involves not only controlling the total amount of chemical N fertilizer applied, but also synchronizing crop N demand and soil N supply by split N applications

Publisher Correction:Network inference from glycoproteomics data reveals new reactions in the IgG glycosylation pathway

Correction to: Nature Communications (2017) 8:1231. doi:10.1038/s41467-017-01525-

Rural Development Policies, CBOs and Their Sustainability in Nepal

Rural and community development policies in Nepal of the last six decades are reviewed in this paper examining them through the lenses of institution building at the grassroots level. Despite providing relief in the short term, many of the initial rural development initiatives failed to make an impact and often disappeared without creating any local institutions as soon as donor funding came to an end. However, since 1980s, there has been a growing emphasis on utilising Community-Based Organizations (CBO) as the vehicle for community development. As a result, CBOs have become ubiquitous. Despite having greater roles in local community development, they have received relatively little attention in the policy and research arena. This paper attempts to explore their evolution, map their growth and examine their patterns of sustainability. Analysing the pathways the CBOs utilise, this paper suggests that CBOs tend to shrink in terms of membership, activities, participation and resources as they grow older. Government and development agencies involved need to focus their help in supporting CBOs to sustain themselves