Abstract
Low phosphorus (P) availability in soils and exhausting P reserves emphasize the need to create plants that are more efficient P users. Studies of the mechanisms involved in P acquisition efficiency of the existing cereal varieties may serve as basis for improving soil P use by genetic means. We studied P depletion in thin slices (0.2 mm) of rhizosphere soil of cereal cultivars (for example, wheat: Kosack and Kraka; spring barley: Canut, Alexis). They differed considerably in P depletion of rhizosphere soil under laboratory conditions. The differences in P uptake were confirmed under field conditions at three P levels (no-P, 10 and 20 kg P ha−1). Both in laboratory and field conditions, the variation between the cultivars was greatest in soil without P fertilizers (no-P) for about 30 years. The variation in P uptake was markedly reduced when 10 kg P ha−1 was applied.
Root length did not differ between the barley cultivars (Canut = 119±10; Alexis 112±15 m g−1 dry root), but there was wide, consistent variation in their root hairs, regardless whether they were grown in nutrient solution or soil. The cultivars with longer root hairs depleted more P from the rhizosphere and absorbed more P in the field, especially the barley cultivars in low P soil. To find out whether root hairs really participated in the P uptake, we measured the uptake of P via root hairs separately from that of remainder of the root surface. Only root hairs were made to grow into labelled soil so that they were the only pathways of 32P uptake from soil. The presence of substantial amounts of 32P in the plant shoot provided direct evidence on the role of root hairs in P uptake.
The wide variation in root hairs of the cereal cultivars together with the direct evidence of their role in P uptake suggest that selection for root hairs may be one of the criteria for improving soil P use. This way we may find P efficient genotypes, able to grow better both in widespread low-P soils (developing countries) and desired lower-P soils (developed countries) for environmental friendly agriculture.
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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Gahoonia, T.S., Nielsen, N.E. (1999). Genetic Variation in Phosphorus Uptake of Cereal Cultivars. In: Gissel-Nielsen, G., Jensen, A. (eds) Plant Nutrition — Molecular Biology and Genetics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2685-6_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2685-6_15
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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