Relation Between Acid Proteinase Activity and Redistribution of Nitrogen During Grain Development in Wheat

Abstract

Accumulation of grain nitrogen was studied in the wheat cultivars Argentine IX and Insignia. The pattern of nitrogen removal from several tissues of each cultivar was compared with the pattern of acid proteinase activity. There was a highly significant relation between the rate of nitrogen loss from the tissues and the rate estimated from the enzyme activity measurements. This suggests an important role for acid proteinase enzymes in leaf senescence. Redistribution of nitrogen present in the plant at anthesis accounted for 78.5 and 80.6 % of the final grain nitrogen yield of Argentine IX and Insignia respectively.