Summary
Isotope dilution provides a yield-independent method of measuring the contribution a legume makes to the nitrogen nutrition of a grass grown in mixture. The method has a major advantage over yield-dependent measurements because it is not necessary for the reference plant (grass growing in pure stand) to accumulate the same quantity of mineral nitrogen as the plant growing in mixture with the legume. The reference plant need only accumulate mineral and 15N-enriched nitrogen in the same proportions as the plant growing with the legume. Using isotope dilution, transfer of nitrogen from legumes to grasses has been measured under both controlled conditions and in the field environment. Direct transfer of nitrogen does not always occur, but in some cases contributes a significant portion of the nitrogen contained in the grass.
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© 1988 ICARDA
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Weaver, R.W. (1988). Isotope Dilution as a Method for Measuring Nitrogen Transfer from Forage Legumes to Grasses. In: Beck, D.P., Materon, L.A. (eds) Nitrogen Fixation by Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 32. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1387-5_35
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1387-5_35
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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