Effect of Green Manure on pH, Dissolved Organic Carbon and Soil Phosphorous Availability with Distance from Roots of Corn and Canola

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Abstract

Small portion of soil phosphorous (P) is usable by plants. To investigate the effects of alfalfa green manure (2% w/w) and roots of corn and canola in single and intercropping systems on available P concentration in soil, a greenhouse experiment was conducted using rhizobox system. The experiment was arranged as a split factorial design with 3 replications, two levels of green manure (0 and 2%), 4 zones with distance from root (rhizosphere, near rhizosphere, near bulk soil and bulk soil) and 4 culture systems (corn, canola, mixed culture and control (not cultivated)) based on completely randomized design. Canola and corn were cultivated at the middle part of rhizobox in mixed or separate forms. The plants were harvested 85 days after sowing and the soil samples were taken from different parts of the rhizobox. The results showed that the green manure reduced the soil pH more than 0.19 and enhanced the dissolved organic carbon concentration (DOC) and soil available P by 25 mg L-1 and 9.47 mg kg-1, respectively. The soil pH and available-P were increased while the DOC was decreased from rhizosphere toward the bulk soil. The bulk soil (over 16 mm distance from root) was not apparently affected by the root activity. Also the results showed that the green manure addition increased the dry weight in corn and canola and also increased the P concentration and uptake in canola while it decreased the P concentration and uptake in corn. Dry weight of intercropping system was more than that of single culture of corn and canola.

Keywords


ملکوتی م­ج و همایی م، 1383. حاصلخیزی خاک­های مناطق خشک و نیمه­خشک، مشکلات و راه­حل­ها. تهران، دانشگاه تربیت مدرس، دفتر نشر آثار علمی، صفحه­های 457 تا 463.
Anjum NA,  Gill SS, and Gill R, 2014. Plant Adaptation to Environmental Change: Significance of Amino Acids and their Derivatives. Published by CABI, Oxfordshire, UK.
Aslam A, Robert L, Travis D and Rains W, 2001. Differential effect of amino acids on nitrate uptake and reduction systems in barley roots. Plant Science 160: 219–228.
Chen G and Gao X, 2002. Effect of partial replacement of nitrate by amino acid and urea on nitrate content of nonheading Chinese cabbage and lettuce in hydroponics (Chinese). Scientia Agricultura Sinica, 35: 187–191.
Gunes A, Post WNK, Kirkby EA and Aktas M, 1994. Influence of partial replacement of nitrate by amino acid nitrogen or urea in the nutrient medium on nitrate accumulation in NFT grown winter lettuce. Journal of Plant Nutrition. 17: 1929–1938.
Gunes A, Inal A and Aktas M, 1996. Reducing nitrate content of NFT grown winter onion plants (Allium cepa L.) by partial replacement of NO3- with amino acid in nutrient solution. Scientia Horticultura 65: 203–208.
Hausler RE, Ludewig F and Krueger S, 2014. Amino acids - A life between metabolism and signaling. Plant Science 229: 225-237.
Kaiser JJ and Lewis OAM, 1984. Nitrate reductase and glutamine synthetase activity in leaves and roots of nitrate-fed Helianthus annuus L. Plant and Soil 70: 127–130.
Karla YP, 1998. Handbook of Reference Methods for Plant Analysis. CRC Press, Washington DC, US.
Liu XQ, Ko KY, Kim SH and Lee KS, 2007. Enhancement of nitrate uptake and reduction by treatment with mixed amino acids in red pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica Section B-Soil and Plant Science 57: 167-172.
Liu XQ, Ko KY, Kim SH and Lee KS, 2008. Effect of amino acid fertilization on nitrate assimilation of leafy radish and soil chemical properties in high nitrate soil. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 39: 269–281.
Liu CW, Sung Y, Chen B and Lai H, 2014. Effects of nitrogen fertilizers on the growth and nitrate content of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). International Journal of Environment Research. Public Health 11(4): 4427-4440.
Majerowicz N, Kerbauy GB, Nievola CC and Suzuki RM, 2000. Growth and nitrogen metabolism of Catasetum fimbriatum (orchidaceae) grown with different nitrogen source. Environmental and Experimental Botany 44: 195–206.
Mensinga TT, Speijer S and Meulenbelt GJ, 2003. Implications of exposure to environmental nitrogenous compounds. Health J. Toxicol. Rev 22: 41–51.
Mobini M, Khoshgoftarmanesh AH and Ghasemi S, 2014. The effect of partial replacement of nitrate with arginine, histidine and a mixture of amino acids extracted from blood powder on yield and nitrate accumulation in onion bulb. Scientia Horticulturae. 176:  232–237.
Mubashir M, Malik SA, Khan AA, Ansari TM, Wright S, Brown MV and Islam KR, 2010. Growth, yield and nitrate accumulation of irrigated carrot and okra in response to nitrogen fertilizer. Pak. J. Bot. 42(4): 2513-2521.
Powlson DS, Addiscott TM and Benjamin N, 2008.When does nitrate become a risk for humans? J. Environ. Qual. 37: 291–5.
Sekerc S and Kaya C, 2014. Nitrate and phytochemicals: may these vary in red and green lettuce by application of organic and inorganic fertilizers? Biological Agriculture and Horticulture 30 (3): 173-182.
Stefanelli DS, Brady S, Winkler RB, Jones J, and Tomkins BT, 2012. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) growth and quality response to applied nitrogen under hydroponic conditions. Acta Agriculturae 927: 353–360.
Tsouvaltzis P, Koukounaras A and Siomos AS, 2014. Application of amino acids improves lettuce crop uniformity and inhibits nitrate accumulation induced by the supplemental inorganic nitrogen fertilization. Int. J. Agric. Biol. 16: 951–955.
Ximenes MIN, Rath S and Reyes FGR, 2000. Polar graphic determination of nitrate in vegetables. Talanta 51: 49–56.