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Nitrogen nutritional status of young maize plants ( Zea mays ) is not limited by NaCl stress
Author(s) -
Hütsch Birgit W.,
He Wenting,
Schubert Sven
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of plant nutrition and soil science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.644
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1522-2624
pISSN - 1436-8730
DOI - 10.1002/jpln.201500565
Subject(s) - shoot , hydroponics , chemistry , zea mays , plant nutrition , nitrate reductase , nitrogen , nitrate , agronomy , nutrient , horticulture , chromosomal translocation , biology , biochemistry , organic chemistry , gene
Maize plants ( Zea mays L. cv. Pioneer 3906) were grown in hydroponics with four different NaCl treatments (control, 50, 100, 150 mM NaCl). Nitrogen (N) was supplied as 2 mM Ca(NO 3 ) 2 in the fully concentrated nutrient solution. Plants of half of the pots were treated with additional 1 mM NH 4 NO 3 2 d after start of the NaCl application. After 23 d, the maize plants were harvested and contents and concentrations of nitrate, reduced N as well as chloride were determined in shoots and roots. With increasing NaCl stress net nitrate uptake and net root‐to‐shoot translocation of total N decreased significantly. Under salt stress, decreased nitrate concentrations in shoots probably caused substrate limitation of nitrate reductase. However, the concentrations of reduced N in shoots were not affected by salt stress and no N deficiency was observed. Additional N application to the 100 and 150 mM NaCl treatments did not improve plant growth. A Cl − /NO $ _3^ - $ antagonism was only weakly pronounced, probably because of the Cl − exclusion ability of maize. Thus, although net uptake and net translocation of total N were markedly decreased by NaCl application, the smaller maize plants nevertheless took up enough N to meet their demand pointing to other growth‐limiting factors than N nutrition.