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Divergent responses of leaf N:P:K stoichiometry to nitrogen fertilization in rice and weeds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 April 2019

Xiao Sun ,
Jiuxin Guo ,
Shiwei Guo ,
Hui Guo Open the ORCID record for Hui Guo [Opens in a new window]  and
Shuijin Hu
Xiao Sun
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, College of Agro-grassland Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Jiuxin Guo
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China; College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Shiwei Guo
Affiliation:
Professor, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Hui Guo*
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Shuijin Hu
Affiliation:
Professor, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Department of Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Hui Guo, Email: hui.guo@njau.edu.cn
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Abstract

Nitrogen (N) inputs have been found to exert strong influence on leaf stoichiometry in natural ecosystems, but there are few studies investigating the effects of N in agroecosystems. Using a 5-yr fertilization experiment in rice fields, we examined the effects of N inputs on leaf stoichiometry of one crop, rice (Oryza sativa L.), and its four common weeds, barnyardgrass [Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv.], Monochoria korsakowii Regel and Mack, alligatorweed [Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb.], and Japanese mazus [Mazus pumilus (Burm. f.) Steenis], and further evaluated whether and how straw return mediates these effects. We found that rice and weed leaf nitrogen:phosphorus:potassium (N:P:K) stoichiometry exhibited divergent responses to N fertilizer. Weed leaf N:P:K stoichiometry was not sensitive to low (120 kg N ha−1) and regular (240 kg N ha−1) N inputs, but rice plants were, with significantly increased leaf N concentration and N:P and N:K ratios. The opposite trend was found for high N inputs (360 kg N ha−1). Rice leaf N concentration [N] did not increase further, and N:P ratios even decreased, whereas E. crus-galli and M. korsakowii had significantly increased [N] and N-related stoichiometry. We also found that the positive effects of regular N inputs on rice leaf N:P and N:K ratios were significantly dampened by straw return, but the positive effects on N:P ratios in M. pumilus leaves were enhanced by straw return. Compared with weeds, rice leaves contained low elemental concentrations across fertilization levels at grain-filling stages. These results indicate that rice has a lower N requirement than weeds at grain-filling stages, and the N supply should be managed at a relative low level to reduce the nutrient acquisition and competitive abilities of weeds. From a stoichiometric perspective, this study highlights the importance of N management in combination with straw return in controlling weeds and increasing the nutrient-use efficiency of crops.

Keywords

Bhagirath Chauhan, The University of QueenslandAgroecosystemM. pumilusOryza sativastraw return
Type
Research Article
Information
Weed Science , Volume 67 , Issue 3 , May 2019 , pp. 339 - 345
Copyright
© Weed Science Society of America, 2019 

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Footnotes

*

These authors contributed equally to this work.

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