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Calcium Stimulation of Ammonium Absorption In Radish
Author(s) -
Fenn L. B.,
Taylor R. M.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1990.00021962008200010018x
Subject(s) - raphanus , urea , chemistry , ammonium , nitrogen , calcium , absorption (acoustics) , zoology , greenhouse , fertilizer , agronomy , dry weight , horticulture , biology , biochemistry , materials science , organic chemistry , composite material
Nitrogen loss processes in soils have been widely studied and there have been many suggestions for improving N‐use efficiency, such as using NH 4 ‐NO 3 fertilizers, split fertilizer applications, application timing, and other techniques. The objective of this research was to examine the use of Ca as a means to increase the rate of NH 4 absorption by radish ( Raphanus sativus L.). Short‐term 15 NH 4 absorption in the presence of variable Ca was measured in the greenhouse, long‐term plant growth responses to NH 4 in the presence of variable Ca were measured both in the greenhouse and in field production trials. Ammonium absorption ( 15 NH 4 ) increased in plants with increasing solution Ca to a Ca/NH 4 ratio of 0.5:1 in the tops and to 2:1 in the roots. Vegetative growth increased in two greenhouse experiments as Ca concentrations increased, all at a constant NH 4 concentration. As the Ca concentration increased, the total N concentration increased in foliar tissue and decreased in the roots. In the 2 yr of field testing, dry weight yield of roots increased 77 and 55%, respectively, in the urea + Ca treatment compared with the urea treatment alone. In the second year field data, total plant absorption of the added urea‐N in the presence of added Ca increased by 109% compared with urea alone. Significant increases were found both in the root and foliar tissue N content, and growth in the 2 yr of field data. The addition of Ca with urea produced significantly improved plant N‐use efficiency in the field as was suggested from the greenhouse data.