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Review on the role of soil macronutrient (NPK) on the improvement and yield and quality of agronomic crops

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Isreal Zewide at Mizan Tepi University
Isreal Zewide
Yonas Reta at Mizan Tepi University
Yonas Reta
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Primary macronutrients play a very important role in improving the yield and quality of crops. Three main elements are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N, P, and K) and are required in abundance. They must be readily available through soil medium or fertilizer. Proper plant nutrition is essential for the successful production of agronomic crops. Every macronutrient has its own character and is therefore involved in different metabolic processes of plant life. The present review is an attempt to provide basic information about the role of primary macronutrients in the production and quality of agronomic crops.
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Official Publication of Direct Research Journal of Agriculture and Food Science: Vol. 9, 2021, ISSN 2354-4147
Direct Research Journal of Agriculture and Food Science
Vol. 9 (1), Pp. 7-11, January 2021
ISSN 2354-4147
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26765/DRJAFS23284767
Article Number: DRJAFS23284767
Copyright © 2021
Author(s) retain the copyright of this article
https://directresearchpublisher.org/drjafs/
Review Paper
Review on the role of soil macronutrient (NPK) on the
improvement and yield and quality of agronomic crops
Israel Zewdie1* and Yonas Reta2
1Department of Natural Resource Management, College of Agriculture, Mizan-Tepi University and Natural Resource
Management, P. O. Box 260, Mizan-Aman, Ethiopia.
2Department of plant science, College of Agriculture, Mizan-Tepi University and Natural Resource Management P. O.
Box 260, Mizan-Aman, Ethiopia.
*Corresponding author E-mail: zewideisreal@gmail.com
Received 2 December 2020; Accepted 11 January, 2021
ABSTRACT: Primary macronutrients play a very
important role in improving the yield and quality
of crops. Three main elements are nitrogen,
phosphorus, and potassium (N, P, and K) and are
required in abundance. They must be readily
available through soil medium or fertilizer.
Proper plant nutrition is essential for the
successful production of agronomic crops. Every
macronutrient has its own character and is
therefore involved in different metabolic
processes of plant life. The present review is an
attempt to provide basic information about the
role of primary macronutrients in the production
and quality of agronomic crops.
Keywords: Macronutrients, yield, quality,
agronomic crops
INTRODUCTION
Agronomic crops are cultivated in larger quantities in the
world. Since the Green Revolution started, the production
of high-yielding cereals (maize, common wheat, and
rice), cotton, and sugarcane has significantly increased.
Cereals and especially, rice (Oryza sativa L.), maize (Zea
mays L.) and common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) are
essential commodities on which human nutrition is based.
Expanding population and food demand have required
higher production which has been achieved by increasing
fertilization, and especially the primary macronutrients. A
total of only 16 elements are essential for the growth and
full development of green plants according to the criteria
laid down by Arnon and Stout (1939).
These criteria are:
(i) A deficiency of an essential nutrient makes it
impossible for the plant to complete the vegetative or
reproductive stage of its life cycle.
(ii) Such deficiency is specific to the element in question
and can be prevented or corrected only by supplying this
element.
(iii) The element is involved directly in the nutrition of the
plant, quite apart from its possible effects in correcting
some unfavorable microbiological or chemical conditions
of the soil or other culture medium.
The essentiality of most micronutrients for plants was
established between 1922 and 1954. The essentiality of
nickel (Ni) was established in 1987 by Brown et al.,
although there is no unanimity among scientists as to
whether Ni is essential or beneficial. However, know the
time it is added as an essential nutrient. Out of these 17
elements, carbon (C) and oxygen are obtained from the
gas CO2, and hydrogen (H) is obtained from water (H2O).
These three elements are required in large quantities for
the production of plant constituents such as cellulose or
Official Publication of Direct Research Journal of Agriculture and Food Science: Vol. 9, 2021, ISSN 2354-4147
starch. The other 13 elements are called mineral
nutrients because they are taken up in mineral (inorganic)
forms. They are traditionally divided into two groups,
macronutrients and micronutrients, according to the
amounts required. Regardless of the amount required,
physiologically, all of them are equally important. The 13
mineral elements are taken up by plants in specific
chemical forms regardless of their source.
Objective
The general objective of this is an attempt to provide
basic information about the role of primary
macronutrients in the production and quality of agronomic
crops.
Specific objective
To describe how nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium
improve cereal crops (rice (Oryza sativa L.), maize (Zea
mays L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), cotton and
sugarcane yield and quality.
Literature review
What are primary (macro) nutrients?
Nutrients primary (macro) nutrients are nitrogen,
phosphorus, and potassium. They are most frequently
required in a crop fertilization program. Moreover, they
are needed in the greatest total quantity of plants as
fertilizer.
Declining yield growth for major food crops have
heightened concerns about agriculture ability to feed a
world population expected to exceed 7.5 billion by the
year 2020. Decreasing soil fertility has also raised
concerns about the sustainability of agricultural
production at current levels. Future strategies for
increasing agricultural productivity will have to focus on
using available nutrient resources more efficiently,
effectively, and sustainably than in the past.
In crop production, plants synthesize nutrients in the
soil such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK)
from air, sunlight, and water. Without proper
management, continuous crop production can reduce
nutrient reserves in the soil. As reserves get depleted,
crop growth and productivity can be compromised. Over
time, cumulative depletion can decrease agricultural
production, crop yields, soil fertility and lead to soil
degradation. Techniques to conserve and add nutrients
to the soil through the application of organic and
inorganic fertilizers can help to maintain and increase the
nutrient reserves of the soil. Fertilizers replace nutrients
removed during harvest and allow growers to manage
crop nutrition for maximum yield. Fertilization practices
can also have significant impacts on harvested fruit
Direct Res. J. Agric. Food Sci. 8
quality and quality retention during packinghouse
operations and distribution. These include physiological
disorders, disease susceptibility, and compositional and
textural changes. Need of nutrients in agronomic crops,
Sixteen plant food nutrients are essential for proper crop
development. Each is equally important to the plant, yet
each is required in vastly different amounts. These
differences have led to the grouping of these essential
elements into three categories; primary (macro) nutrients,
secondary nutrients, and micronutrients.
Primary Macronutrients play an essential role in
improving the yield and quality of crops. Three main
elements are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N, P,
and K) and are required in abundance (Table 1 and
Figure 1). They must be readily available through soil
media or fertilizer. Proper plant nutrition is essential for
successful production of agronomic crops.
Among the nutrients, nitrogen (N) is the fundamental
nutrient that needs the most for crop production while N
deficiencies result in yellowing crop leaves and reduce
tillering of cereal crops. Next to N, phosphorus (P) is a
vital nutrient for plant growth and productivity that
modifies cell division, enzyme activity, and carbohydrate
processes (Malhotra et al., 2018). Moreover, phosphorus
also plays a vital role in cellular processes by maintaining
membrane structure, synthesizing bimolecular, and
forming high-energy molecules (Malhotra et al., 2018).
Role of nitrogen in improving the yield and quality of
age-agronomic crops
Nitrogen is the most abundant mineral nutrient in plants.
It constitutes 2–4 percent of plant dry matter. Nitrogen is
available 79% in the air, but the plant can only be used N
in the form of nitrate (NO3
-) and ammonium (NH4+).
Nitrogen is also regarded as the essential component of
all proteins and enzymes and further performed in
various metabolic processes of energy transformation
(Rajasekar et al., 2017). Therefore, a sufficient amount
of N availability in plants is required, because it is one of
the major key factors of crop production (Rajasekar et al.,
2017). Rhizobium species of bacteria present in the roots
of leguminous crops can convert atmospheric nitrogen
into plant available compounds. Nitrogen is the most
important nutrient and required by the plant in the largest
proportion. It is an important constituent of chlorophyll,
protoplasm, protein, and nucleic acids. Nitrogen gives
dark-green colour to plants and increases the vegetative
growth of crop plants. It plays a key role in the
preparation of starch in leaves and the production of
amino acids.
Nitrogen supply and yield
Nitrogen plays a key role in agriculture by increasing crop
yield. Plants contain 15% nitrogen by weight. All plants
Official Publication of Direct Research Journal of Agriculture and Food Science: Vol. 9, 2021, ISSN 2354-4147
Zewdie and Reta 9
Figure 1: Percent available of macronutrients in soil, plant, and ocean.
Table 1: Primary (macro) plant nutrients, forms taken up and their typical concentration in plants.
Nutrient (symbol)
Essentiality established by
Forms absorbed
Typical concentration in plant dry matter
Nitrogen (N) de Saussure (1804) NH4+, NO
-
3 1.5%
Phosphorus (P) Sprengel (1839) H2PO
4
-
, HPO4
2
-
0.1–0.4%
Potassium (K) Sprengel (1839) K+ 1–5%
including agronomic crops (cereals, cottons, and sugar)
produced require a balanced amount of nitrogen for
vigorous growth and development process. Nitrogen is
showing a fundamental role in enhancing the productivity
of four major agronomics crops such as wheat, rice,
sugarcane, and cotton. Wheat growth and yield
parameters, plant height (cm), number of tillers m-2
number of spikelet’s spike-1, grains spike-1 and length of
spike and1000-grain weight increased by nitrogen
fertilization. Nitrogen at 120kg ha-1 showed promising
results for plant height of rice, number of tillers, dry
weight, length of panicle, number of filled grains, straw
yield, biological yield, harvest index, and grain yield 4.66
tonsha-1 fertilization (Leghari et al., 2016). Nitrogen 100kg
ha-1produced more seed cotton yield due to more number
of monopodial branches (where from vegetative part
develops) and sympodial branches (where from
reproductive part develops), boll plant-1, average boll
weight and 100 cotton seed weight (Chen, 2019). For
sugarcane crops, nitrogen is also a backbone and
improves the vegetative parts and thus increases the
cane weight (Leghari et al., 2016).
Nitrogen supply and product quality
Nitrogen not only enhances the yield but also improves
the food quality (Leghari et al., 2016). It improves the
quality of leafy vegetables and fodder and the protein
content of food grains. The addition of N generally has
the greatest effect on plant growth and a considerable
influence on product quality, especially through increases
in protein concentration and its quality. It also increases
the concentration of several other valuable substances.
Various N compounds in plants are important for quality
assessment. The concentration of crude protein in wheat
grain may be raised from 10 percent to more than 15
percent, thus improving the “baking quality” of the flour. N
supply increases the prolamine content in grains, thus
increasing the gluten concentration of grain kernels,
which improves baking quality (Rajasekar et al., 2017).
Role of phosphorus in improving yield and quality of
agronomic crops
Phosphorus is an essential macronutrient involved in
most growth processes. It is an essential component of
most organic compounds in the plant, including nucleic
acids, proteins, phospholipids, sugar phosphates,
enzymes, and energy-rich phosphate compounds. It has
been well reported that P is a necessary component of
photosynthetic processes which are systematically
implicated in the creation of sugars, oils, and starches
and which further helps in the conversion of solar energy
into chemical energy, proper plant maturation, and
withstanding stress. It helps plants survive in harsh winter
Official Publication of Direct Research Journal of Agriculture and Food Science: Vol. 9, 2021, ISSN 2354-4147
conditions, hastens maturity, and increases water use
efficiency. It plays an important role in cell division, and in
seed and fruit development. It stimulates early root
development, leaf size, tillering, flowering, and grain yield
and hastens the maturity of crops. It establishes the plant
roots and helps them to go deep for getting moisture and
nutrients. Deep roots also form the plant in soil and
reduce the loss caused by lodging.
Phosphorus supply and yield
Phosphorus is second only to nitrogen in importance as
an essential crop nutrient. It is critical for plant growth,
especially in the early jointing stages and for enhancing
grain yield and yield components (Ali et al., 2014).
In sugarcane, phosphorus is particularly important for
root development, early shoot growth and tillering,
maximizing early productivity, increasing internodes
length and in sugarcane yield and quality.
The addition of phosphorus in cotton increases the
growth and yield parameters. The response of number of
bolls per plant, boll weight and seed cotton yield was
increased (Ahmad et al., 2009).
Phosphorus supply and product quality
Phosphorus improve quality in many ways: less grain
drying expanse, higher sugar content, less disease loss,
improved winter survivability, less dockage, a greater
proportion of marketable yield, better feed value, and
improved drought resistance in crops such as wheat and
maize (KOW and Nabwami, 2015) .Cotton quality
components (lint %age, fiber length, and fiber strength)
improved from 2 to 5% where phosphorus was added
(Ahmad et al., 2009).
Role of potassium in improving yield and quality of
agronomic crops
Potassium (K) is an essential macronutrient for
maintaining crop productivity, but the economic benefit of
K fertilizer often has been neglected. One reason for the
K deficiency is that K fertilizer always lacks attention, and
farmers generally believe that K fertilizer does not
effectively increase crop yields compared to N and P
fertilizers.
Potassium (K) is an essential plant macronutrient and
plays an important role in many physiological processes
vital to plant nutrient and water uptake, nutrient transport,
and growth, especially under adverse conditions(Jiang et
al.,2018).
Therefore, it has many functions in plant nutrition and
growth that influence both yield and quality of the crop
(Kow and Nabwami, 2015).
Direct Res. J. Agric. Food Sci. 10
Potassium supply and yield
Recent studies have shown that K fertilizer application
has markedly increased wheat and rice yield. Moreover
Potassium has special value to carbohydrate-rich crops
such as sugarcane.
Potassium supply and product quality
Potassium not only increases yields but also enhances
crop quality. Among plant nutrients, K is very closely
associated with crop quality. It is required for good growth
as well as for good crop quality, plant health, tolerance to
various stresses, and seed quality (Roy et al., 2006). It
improves the nutritive value of grains by increasing the
contents of protein and oil in seeds. With an adequate
supply of potassium, cereals produce plump grains and
strong stalks. In addition, it increases the resistance to
various injuries during storage and transportation, thus
extending shelf life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, macronutrients play a essential role in
plant growth and development, and thus influence every
stage of plant life. From this review, it can be concluded
that the primary macro elements (N, P, K,) influence yield
and crop quality. Proper plant nutrition, especially those
primary macronutrients, is essential for successful
production of agronomic crops and plays a key role in
agriculture by increasing crop yield. Apart from crop
yields, crop quality is another area that needs to be
considered with serious attention as it affects human
nutrition and profitability of crop products. The common
quality attributes that are influenced as reported by many
authors include protein and carbohydrate content of the
sink organs of plants, grain hardness, and moisture
content at storage of crops such as maize and wheat.
Undersupplying and oversupplying of nutrients may lead
to reduced crop quality.
REFERENCES
Ahmad M, Hannan A, Yasin M, Ranjha AM, Niaz A (2009). Phosphorus
Application to Cotton Enhances growth, yield, and quality. Pakistan
Journal of Agricultural Sciences 46(3):169.
Ali MS, Sutradhar A, Edano ML, Edwards JT, Girma K (2014).
Response of W inter W heat Grain Yield and Phosphorus Uptake to
Foliar Phosphite Fertilization. International Journal of Agronom y
2014, 8.
Chen J (2019). Nitrogen Fertilization Effect on Physiology of the Cotton
Boll-leaf system, Agronomy.
Jiang W , Liu X, Wang Y, Zhang Y, Qi W (2018). Responses to
Potassium Application and Economic Optimum K Rate of Maize
under Different Soil Indigenous K Supply.
Kow N Nabwami J (2015). A Review of Effects of Nutrient Elements
on Crop Quality. African Journal of Agriculture Nutrition and
Development. 15:1.
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Leghari SJ, W ahocho NA, Laghari GM, Laghari AH, Bhabhan GM,
Talpur KH, Bhutto TA, W ahocho SA, Lashari AA(2016). Role of
Nitrogen for Plant Growth and Development.Advances in
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Malhotra H, Vandana Sharma S, Pandey R (2018). Phosphorus
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Full-text available
  • Apr 2024
Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE) is the capacity of certain crops to use the available nutrients for growth, development, and productivity. Enhancing the efficiency of nutrient utilization by cereals is an admirable objective and a major problem for the fertilizer sector and agriculture as a whole. Nutrient use efficiency (NUE) is a critical concept in the evaluation of cereal production systems. Therefore, this study aimed to review methods for improving the efficiency of primary nutrient (NPK) use in cereals (Barley, Rice, wheat, Maize, Sorghum, and Sugarcane) for sustainable production and productivity. Soil, plant water, and fertilizer management can have important impacts on the nutrient-use efficiency of cereals. Nutrient utilization aims to maximize the overall performance of cropping systems by providing the crop with the most inexpensive sustenance possible, while reducing nutrient losses from the field. The NUE takes care of some, but not all, of that performance. Thus, in addition to NUE, total productivity must is one of the aims of system enhancement. The question being posed and, frequently, the spatial or temporal scale of interest for which trustworthy data are available, dictate the most appropriate approach to NUE. For N, P, and K, the partial nutrient balance (the ratio of nutrients removed by crop harvest to fertilizer. Although opinions differ, agronomic nutrient use efficiency is the foundation for both economic and environmental efficiency. Economic and environmental efficiencies arise from increased agricultural efficiency. Therefore, different researchers have investigated ways to improve the nutrient use efficiency of cereals by using mechanisms including optimizing nutrient usage, nano-fertilizer usage, breeding for nutrient use efficiency, and precision farming.
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... Phosphorus deficiency can inhibit plant growth. Meanwhile, potassium plays an important role in nutrient absorption and nutrient transportation, water absorption, and plant growth [21]. Plant growth is presumed to ...
Effects of NPK Fertilizer on Growth, Phytochemical Content and Antioxidant Activity of Purslane (Portulaca grandiflora)
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2023
Purslane (Portulaca grandiflora) is a succulent plant that contains phytochemicals including flavonoids, carotenoids, polyphenolic acids, sterols, and reducing agents. The pharmacological properties of this plant include antioxidant activity, and the plant is used in sore throat and skin rashes medications, and for detoxification purposes. The plant’s secondary metabolite content is influenced by mineral nutrition. The types and amounts of plant secondary metabolites are determined by soil nutrients. Therefore, this research aimed to observe and analyze the NPK fertilizer effect on plant growth, total phenolics, and antioxidant activity in purslane. Purslane planting was carried out by applying NPK fertilizer (doses of 0, 100, 200 and 300 kg/ha) in August-October 2022 at the Green House of the Department of Biochemistry, IPB University, Indonesia. The total number of leaves and branches was found to be highest with 200 kg/ha dose of NPK fertilizer treatment. The highest total phenolic content, 0.7346 mg GAE/g FW, was found for the treatment with 100 kg/ha dose of NPK fertilizer. The highest increase in antioxidant activity was observed in extracts treated with 100 kg/ha (FRAP, CUPRAC) and 200 kg/ha (DPPH, ABTS) of NPK fertilizer. Therefore, applying NPK fertilizer at optimal doses can increase the plant growth, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity of purslane. From the research, the recommended doses was 100 kg/ha, which gave the highest total phenolic, and the highest single electron transfer antioxidant activity (FRAP, CUPRAC). Moreover, there was no significant difference in growth parameters at higher doses.
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Use of biotechnological techniques for augmenting micro- and macronutrients use efficiency in plant system
Chapter
  • May 2024
Adaptable and nutritious crops are essential for agricultural sustainability to meet nutritional needs and improve human health. Because it affects global food production and fertilizer consumption, research on micro- and macronutrient use efficiency is important for crop improvement. Nutrients (micro- and macronutrients) use efficiency specifies the quantity of plant yield in terms of grains or biomass produced per unit of augmented nutrients. How effectively plants utilize nutrients to produce biomass and/or grain depends on a complex interplay of environmental and plant-intrinsic factors. As a result, improving the micro- and macronutrient components in plant systems is necessary by increasing nutrient use efficiency (NUE). The advancement of molecular and genetic techniques leads to a better understanding of NUE that further helps in developing more nutrient-efficient varieties. To understand the molecular genetic basis of NUE efforts is underway, but much remains unknown. Improved, efficient, and precise techniques are expanding our understanding of plant nutrition by allowing us to dissect molecular and genetic components that contribute to NUE-related processes. In this chapter, we are discussing some basic concepts related to nutrient acquisition and utilization efficiencies and review current knowledge on key genes regulating these processes in different plant species.
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Nitrogen Fertilization Effects on Physiology of the Cotton Boll–Leaf System
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2019
The objective of this study was to assess the impacts of nitrogen on the physiological characteristics of the source–sink system of upper fruiting branches under various amounts of nitrogen fertilization. A two-year field experiment was conducted with a Bt cotton cultivar in the Yellow River Basin of China. The growth and yield of cotton of the upper fruiting branches were compared under four nitrogen levels: Control (N0, 0 kg ha⁻¹), low nitrogen (N1, 120 kg ha⁻¹), moderate nitrogen (N2, 240 kg ha⁻¹), and high nitrogen (N3, 480 kg ha⁻¹). The results indicated that in the subtending leaves in upper fruiting branches, chlorophyll content, protein content, and peroxidase (POD) activity dramatically increased with nitrogen application, reaching the highest under the moderate nitrogen treatment. The physiological characters in the seeds had the same trends as in the subtending leaves. Furthermore, the moderate nitrogen rate (240 kg ha⁻¹) had a favorable yield and quality. Our results supported that a moderate nitrogen rate (240 kg ha⁻¹) could coordinate the source–sink growth of cotton in the late stage, enhance the yield and fiber quality, and decrease the cost of fertilizer in the Yellow River Basin of China and other similar ecological areas.
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Responses to Potassium Application and Economic Optimum K Rate of Maize under Different Soil Indigenous K Supply
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2018
Potassium (K) is an essential macronutrient for maintaining crop productivity, but the economic benefit of K fertilizer often has been neglected. We collected a database from 60 maize field experimental sites in Northeast China between 2005 and 2012 to study the impacts of potassium (K) application rates on yield, K concentrations in grain and straw, plant K uptake, and to evaluate the economic optimum K rate (EOKR) for maize under different levels of soil indigenous K supply (IKS). The results showed that the average maize yield in Krec treatment (the recommended K rate) was highest and was 32.1% higher than that in K0 treatment (no K fertilization). Compared to K0, the application of K did not significantly increase grain K concentration, whereas it significantly increased K concentration in the straw. Plant K uptake in K150 treatment (150% of the recommended K rate) was higher than that in Krec treatment, but grain yield was lower than that in Krec treatment. Thus, the result indicates that luxury K absorption occurred in K150% treatment due to excessive K application. Thus, the application rate of K should be further optimized. Based on the modified Mitscherlich model, the average economic optimum K rate (EONR) was 135.24, 124.27, and 96.54 kg K2O/ha for the low, medium, and high levels of soil indigenous K supply (IKS), respectively. The average economic optimum yield (EOY) at a high IKS level was similar to the average yield in Krec treatment, whereas the EOKR could reduce by a K rate of 37.9–63.7 kg K2O/ha compared to Krec treatment. This study highlights the importance of K application to improve grain yield and provides a promising fertilizer recommendation method for minimizing fertilizer inputs and optimizing maize production.
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Phosphorus Nutrition: Plant Growth in Response to Deficiency and Excess
Chapter
Full-text available
  • Jun 2018
Phosphorus (P) is an essential element determining plants’ growth and productivity. Due to soil fixation of P, its availability in soil is rarely sufficient for optimum growth and development of plants. The uptake of P from soil followed by its long-distance transport and compartmentation in plants is outlined in this chapter. In addition, we briefly discuss the importance of P as a structural component of nucleic acids, sugars and lipids. Furthermore, the role of P in plant’s developmental processes at both cellular and whole plant level, viz. seed germination, seedling establishment, root, shoot, flower and seed development, photosynthesis, respiration and nitrogen fixation, has been discussed. Under P-deficient condition, plants undergo various morphological, physiological and biochemical adaptations, while P toxicity is rarely reported. We also summarize the antagonistic and synergistic interaction of P with other macro- and micronutrients.
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Response of Winter Wheat Grain Yield and Phosphorus Uptake to Foliar Phosphite Fertilization
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2014
One of the major problems that potentially hinders the use of foliar fertilization as a tool to improve nutrient use efficiency is the lack of effective formulations. A phosphite based product, Nutri-phite (3% N, 8.7% P, and 5.8% K) was used as model phosphite formulation for foliar application in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L). Five field trials were established in the fall of 2009 and 2010 at Perkins, Perry, and Morrison, OK. Treatments encompassed the application of nitrogen (N) at 100 or 75% of crop need and phosphorus at 100 (P 100%) and 80% (P 80%) sufficiency with and without Nutri-phite. Nutri-phite was applied at one and/or two stages of wheat; GS 13 to 14 and GS 49 to 53 at the rate of 433 and 148 g ha−1 P and N, respectively. Grain yield was increased by Nutri-phite treatments, especially at Morrison. Grain P concentration of plots treated with two applications of Nutri-phite ranged from 13 to 55% more than the nontreated and standard NP received plots at Perkins in 2009/10 and Perry in 2010/11. Grain P uptake was increased due to application of Nutri-phite at Perkins in 2009/10 and Morrison and Perry in 2010/11. Combined over three year-locations, Nutri-phite increased grain P concentration by 11.6%. The higher grain P concentration of plots treated with Nutri-phite compared to the other treatments clearly demonstrates its potential in improving P status of wheat grain.
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PHOSPHORUS APPLICATION TO COTTON ENHANCES GROWTH, YIELD, AND QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS ON A SANDY LOAM SOIL
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2009
-1 ) along with 120 kg N and 53 kg K ha -1 were applied. The response of cotton growth parameters was greater than quality components to P addition in calcareous soil. There was significant increase in the growth and yield parameters with each additional rate of P. The response of number of bolls per plant, boll weight and seed cotton yield was to the tune of 88.23, 16.82 and 42%, respectively at P application rate of 34 kg ha -1 . Cotton quality components (lint %age, fiber length and fiber strength) improved from 2 to 5% where 43 kg P ha -1 was added. The lint and seed P concentration was little affected by P application as compared to stem and leaves showing its essentiality for cell division and development of meristematic tissue. Phosphorus use, thus not only valuable for wheat crop but also its application to cotton crop is of vital importance in improving both lint yield and quality.
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A review of effects of nutrient elements on crop quality.
Article
  • Feb 2015
  • AJFAND
The problem of low soil fertility and poor plant nutrition does not only affect crop yields but also crop quality. A review of many refereed published journal articles and books sourced from internet and libraries was conducted with the aim of highlighting the effects of plant nutrition on crop quality. Emphasis was put on elucidating the functions through which various nutrient elements influence biochemical processes and eventually affect the overall quality of various crops and their products. Nutrients reviewed in this paper included elements such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sulphur (S), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), and cobalt (Co). The crop quality characteristics mostly reported t o be affected by plant nutrition include: proteins, carbohydrate, sucrose and fructose content in grains, root crops, tuber crops and fruits; vitamins like beta-carotene content in fruits and tubers; moisture content at storage in cereal grains, potato tuber density; and frying colours, and fruit weight. It has been noted that essential and beneficial nutrient elements contribute to crop quality through functioning as raw materials for the synthesis of various plant components that have food value to humans and animals. Nitrogen and S are raw materials for protein synthesis. Others like Ca, P, Zn and Fe are involved in enzyme synthesis, activation or as electron carriers while Mg, and K are mostly involved in enzyme activation and transportation of materials such as fructose and sucrose from points of synthesis to sites of loading and hence affect quality of fruits, and root and tuber crops greatly. It has been noted that crop quality is also greatly influenced by the synergistic and antagonistic interactions in various nutrients uptake and utilization. Therefore, balanced nutrition is noted to be o f paramount importance. From this review it can be concluded that crop quality is a very important area to consider advancing and putting up resources for research since it has a huge bearing on human health and socioeconomic effect on farmers through its in fluence on marketability of crops and crop products.
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Role of Nitrogen for Plant Growth and Development
  • Jan 2016
  • 209-218
  • S J Leghari
  • N A Wahocho
  • G M Laghari
  • A H Laghari
  • G M Bhabhan
  • K H Talpur
  • T A Bhutto
  • S A Wahocho
  • A A Lashari
Leghari SJ, Wahocho NA, Laghari GM, Laghari AH, Bhabhan GM, Talpur KH, Bhutto TA, Wahocho SA, Lashari AA(2016). Role of Nitrogen for Plant Growth and Development.Advances in Environmental Biology, 10(9):209-218.
A review on role of macro nutrients on production and quality of vegetables
  • Jan 2017
  • 304-309
  • M Rajasekar
  • Udhaya Nandhini
  • D Swaminathan
  • V Balakrishnan
Rajasekar M, Udhaya Nandhini D, Swaminathan V, Balakrishnan K (2017). A review on role of macro nutrients on production and quality of vegetables. International Journal of Chemical Studies 5(3):304-309.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome.FAO fertilizer and Plant Nutrition Bulletin 16
  • Jan 2006
  • R N Roy
  • A Finck
  • G J Blair
  • Hls Tandon
Roy RN, Finck A, Blair GJ, Tandon HLS (2006). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome.FAO fertilizer and Plant Nutrition Bulletin 16.