Nitrogen application at anthesis increases barley grain protein by enhancing phloem amino acid mobilisation
J. J. Boero A , F. H. Gutierrez Boem
A B , P. Prystupa A B , C. G. Veliz B , M. V. Criado A B , F. M. Gomez A B and C. Caputo A B *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
B CONICET – Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales (INBA), Avenida San Martín 4453, C1417DSE, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Crop & Pasture Science 74(4) 312-323 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP21749
Submitted: 3 February 2021 Accepted: 21 July 2022 Published: 10 October 2022
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing
Abstract
Context: In the malting industry, the low protein content of barley grains is a major issue. A useful strategy to overcome this problem is to complement the initial fertilisation with a foliar application of nitrogen (N) near anthesis.
Aims: This study aimed to advance knowledge of the metabolic adjustments displayed by plants grown under common management practices in response to foliar N fertilisation at anthesis.
Methods: Field experiments with two different rates of foliar N application near anthesis were performed at three commercial sites under the common practice of each farmer.
Key results: Grain protein content increased upon foliar fertilisation in all sites without affecting leaf senescence or N remobilisation efficiency. Barley plants also showed a rapid assimilation of the N applied at anthesis, increasing the leaf N organic pools and the global phloem amino acid mobilisation during grain filling. These results could be attributed to the increase in the gene expression of glutamine synthetase 1 and two amino acid transporters (HvAAP6 and HvAAP7).
Conclusions: Foliar N applied was rapidly assimilated and exported with high efficiency to the grain with no negative impact over the contribution of N from vegetative organs. Furthermore, phloem N contribution was shown to be of major importance for grain protein content.
Implications: Foliar fertilisation near anthesis is an efficient strategy to correct grain protein content to meet maltsters’ requirements because it did not affect pre-assimilated N remobilisation, and was useful under the different nutrient availabilities explored here (N sufficiency, N deficiency and sulfur deficiency).
Keywords: abiotic stress, anrhesis fertilisation, barley, cereal crops, crop physiology, grain protein, nitrogen assimilation, nitrogen cycling, phloem transport.
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