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Can δ 15 N in lettuce tissues reveal the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser in organic production?
Author(s) -
Šturm Martina,
KacjanMaršić Nina,
Lojen Sonja
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.4179
Subject(s) - lactuca , nitrogen , agronomy , nitrate , chemistry , environmental science , biology , organic chemistry
BACKGROUND: The nitrogen isotopic fingerprint (δ 15 N) is reported to be a promising indicator for differentiating between organically and conventionally grown vegetables. However, the effect on plant δ 15 N of split nitrogen fertilisation, which could enable farmers to cover up the use of synthetic fertiliser, is not well studied. In this study the use of δ 15 N in lettuce as a potential marker for identifying the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser was tested on pot‐grown lettuce ( Lactuca sativa L.) treated with synthetic and organic nitrogen fertilisers (single or split application). The effect of combined usage of synthetic and organic fertilisers on δ 15 N was also investigated. RESULTS: The δ 15 N values of whole plants treated with different fertilisers differed significantly when the fertiliser was applied in a single treatement. However, additional fertilisation (with isotopically the same or different fertiliser) did not cause a significant alteration of plant δ 15 N. CONCLUSION: The findings of the study suggest that the δ 15 N value of lettuce tissues could be used as a rough marker to reveal the history of nitrogen fertilisation, but only in the case of single fertiliser application. However, if the difference in δ 15 N between the applied synthetic and organic nitrogen fertilisers was > 9.1‰, the detection of split and combined usage of the fertilisers would have greater discriminatory power. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry