Banding phosphorus and ammonium enhances nutrient uptake by maize via modifying root spatial distribution
Qinghua Ma A , Hongliang Tang B , Zed Rengel C and Jianbo Shen A D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Centre for Resources, Environmental and Food Security, Department of Plant Nutrition, China Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100193, P. R. China.
B College of Life Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, P. R. China.
C Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, School of Earth and Environment, The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: jbshen@cau.edu.cn
Crop and Pasture Science 64(10) 965-975 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP13266
Submitted: 30 July 2013 Accepted: 5 November 2013 Published: 13 December 2013
Abstract
Localised supply of phosphorus (P) plus ammonium improves root proliferation and nutrient uptake by plants grown on calcareous soils, but how nitrogen (N) forms (ammonium and urea) and placements affect maize (Zea mays L.) root distribution and nutrient uptake is not fully understood. A soil column study was conducted with four N and P combinations including P plus urea (UP), mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP), di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and P plus ammonium sulfate (ASP), and two fertiliser application methods (banding in the 10–25 cm layer or mixing throughout the 45-cm soil profile). Shoot N and P content increased by 11–31% and 14–37% in the treatments with banding P plus ammonium (MAP, DAP or ASP) compared with banding UP and the mixing treatments. Shoot N and P uptake rates per root dry weight or root length were higher with banding P plus ammonium than their respective mixing treatments. Banding P plus ammonium increased root-length density in the fertiliser-banded layer compared with banding UP and the mixing treatments. The results show that modifying root spatial distribution by banding P plus ammonium leads to an increase in N and P uptake rates, and consequently enhances nutrient accumulation by maize.
Additional keywords: ammonium, banding, maize, nutrient uptake, phosphate, root spatial distribution.
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