Table Of ContentDiagnosis of the Nitrogen Status in Crops
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Gilles Lemaire (Ed.)
Diagnosis
of the Nitrogen Status
in Crops
With 119 Figures and 17 Tables
t
Springer
Dr. GILLES LEMAIRE
INRA
Station d'Ecophysiologie
des Plantes Fourrageres
86600 Lusignan
France
ISBN -13: 978-3-642-64506-8 e-ISBN -13: 978-3-642-60684-7
DOl: 10.1007/978-3-642-60684-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. Diagnosis of the nitrogen status in crops/Gilles
Lemaire (ed.). p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
1. Nitrogen fertilizers. 2. Crops and nitrogen. 3. Plants. Effect of nitrogen on. I. Lemaire, Gilles.
1945- . S651.D53 1997 631.8'4 - DC21 96-52379
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Foreword
This volume introduces a new concept in plant nutrition and demon
strates how it can be applied in practice to improve N nutrition of
crops. The importance of the topic is well illustrated by the fact that
yields of man's main food, cereals, have increased, in many countries,
roughly in proportion to average rates of N -fertilizer application. Yet
much of this nitrogen does not enter the crops but is converted to
nitrate, thus polluting the environment. Of course, in addition to fertil
izers, biological nitrogen fixation and organic manures supply much
nitrogen, however, regardless of the source, there is a need to match
supply with crop demand.
Crop demand is the product of plant mass multiplied by critical
NO/O (the minimum needed for maximum growth rate); the value of
which usually declines with increasing plant mass. Much effort in the
past was devoted to measuring critical N%. However, no set of values
seems to have gained widespread acceptance, possibly because of di
vergence between results of different workers. Even so, important and
widely applicable conclusions are emerging. One is the discovery,
made independently in Lusignan and in Wellesbourne, of a remarkable
similarity in the way the critical NO/O of some quite different crops
declines with increase in plant mass per unit area. Others include the
influence on the critical N% of the relative proportions of structural
and metabolic tissues, of light intensity and its attenuation down the
canopy, and of the formation of storage tissues. The authors have
integrated this information into a comprehensive theory for the decline
in critical NO/O as crops grow. The theory is consistent with the near
proportional relationships that are often obtained between relative
growth rate and NO/O in the plant dry matter and, even more notably,
with the 3/2 self-thinning rule for plant populations in plant ecology.
A great merit of the theory is that it is encapsulated in a simple
equation with two easily measurable coefficients. It has been extended
to provide a nitrogen nutrition index that can be used to assess the
nitrogen status of crop in terms of its NO/O and critical NO/O calculated
from the equation and plant mass per unit area.
Failure to take proper account of plant mass per unit area has, in
the past, led to much misinterpretation of field experimental data
VI Foreword
obtained in both temperate and tropical climates. Numerous examples
are given of how reinterpretation of the data using the nitrogen nutri
tion index has led to discoveries. They cover disparate topics, includ
ing breeding of high-N lucerne cultivars, discriminating between the
direct effects of plant water stress on growth and the indirect effects
associated with reducing the N supply to roots, and elucidating the
causes of differences in performance between mixed populations and
monocultures of herbage. The studies were made at the field level and
thus should lead rapidly to improvements in commercial practice.
The research can also be immediately applied to optimize the use
of fertilizers. For instance, it provides relationships between critical
NO/O and plant mass that can be incorporated directly into computer
models that calculate the day-to-day changes in N response. As such
models are now being used commercially by consultants, advisers and
farmers, they could have a substantial impact on arable agriculture.
Nevertheless, it is true that the decision-making process on fertilizer
use on farms is complex and it is not clear how fertilizer practice will
develop in the future. Inclusion of a discussion of this topic is a very
welcome feature of the book, especially as it seldom gets the attention
it deserves. Existing methods for predicting fertilizer requirements
and, indeed, future possibilities, including those involving noninvasive
radiometry, are also disscussed. The value of the nitrogen nutrition
index is discussed in the light of this information and it is clear that it
could be used in several different ways to improve N -fertilizer practice.
The book will be of great interest to all concerned with the funda
mental aspects of plant nutrition as well as to agriculturalists, horticul
turists and ecologists.
H.R.1. Welles bourne, UK Prof. D.J. GREENWOOD
Contents
Part I On the Critical N Concentration
in Agricultural Crops 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 N Uptake and Distribution in Plant Canopies
Go LEMAIRE and Fo GASTAL 3
000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 000
2 Use of the Nitrogen Nutrition Index for the Analysis
of Agronomical Data
Go LEMAIRE and JoMo MEYNARD 45
00000000000000000000000
Part II The Nitrogen Requirement
of Major Agricultural Crops 57
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 Grasslands
Mo DURU, Go LEMAIRE, and Po CRUZ 59
4 Wheat, Barley, and Durum Wheat
Eo JUSTES, MoHo JEUFFROY, and B. MARY 73
5 Maize and Sorghum
Do PLENET and Po CRUZ 93
6 Grain Legumes
B. NEY, To DORE, and Mo SAGAN 107
7 Potatoes
To DUCHENNE, JoMo MACHET, and Mo MARTIN 119
8 Mixed Crops
Po CRUZ and JoFo So us SANA 131
Part III Management ofN Nutrition 145
0000000000000000000000
9 Nitrogen Diagnosis and Decision Support
JoMo MEYNARD, Co AUBRY, Eo JUSTES, and Mo LE BAIL 147
VIII Contents
10 Diagnosis Using Stem Base Extract: JUBIL Method
E. JUSTES, J.M. MEYNARD, B. MARY, and D. PLENET 163
11 Leaf N Content as an Indicator
of Crop N Nutrition Status
G. LEMAIRE, D. PLENET, and D. GRIND LAY 189
12 Radiometric Estimates of Nitrogen Status of Leaves
and Canopies
F. BARET and TH. FOURTY ............................ 201
13 Concluding Remarks: N Hazards to Crops
and Environment
B. MARy ........................................... 229
Subject Index ......................................... 237
List of Contributors
AUBRY, C.
INRA-INA PG Unite de Recherche sur les Systemes Agraires
et la Developpement, 78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France
BARET, F.
INRA Station de Bioclimatologie, Domaine Saint Paul,
Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon Cedex 9, France
CRUZ, P.
INRA Station d'A gronomie, BP 27,
31326 Castanet-Tolosan Cedex, France
DORE, T.
INRA-INA PG Laboratoire d' Agronomie,
78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France
DUCHENNE, T.
Agro-Transfert, Domaine de Brunehaut, 80200 Estrees-Mons,
France
DURU, M.
INRA Station d'Agronomie, Auzeville BP 27,
31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France
FOURTY, TH.
INRA Station de Bioclimatologie Domaine Saint Paul,
Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon Cedex 9, France
GAS TAL, F.
INRA Station d'Ecophysiologie des Plantes Fourrageres,
86600 Lusignan, France
GRINDLAY, D.
INRA Station d'Ecophysiologie des Plantes Fourrageres,
86600 Lusignan, France
X List of Contributors
JEUFFROY, M.H.
lNRA-lNA PG Laboratoire d'Agronomie,
78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France
JUSTES, E.
lNRA Unite d'Agronomie Centre de Recherche Agronomique
2 Esplanade Roland Garros, BP 224,51686 Reims Cedex 2, France
LE BAIL, M.
lNRA-lNA PG Unite de Recherche sur les Systemes Agraires
et la Developpement, 78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France
LEMAIRE, G.
lNRA Station d'Ecophysiologie des Plantes Fourrageres,
86600 Lusignan, France
MACHET, J.M.
lNRA Station d' Agronomie, rue Fernand Christ,
02007 Laon Cedex, France
MARTIN,M.
lTCF-lTPT, Domaine de Brunehaut, 80200 Estrees-Mons,
France
MARY, B.
lNRA Unite d' Agronomie, rue Fernand Christ,
02007 Laon Cedex, France
MEYNARD, J.M.
lNRA-lNA PG Station d'Agronomie,
78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France
NEY, B.
lNRA-lNA PG Laboratoire d'Agronomie,
78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France
PLENET, D.
lNRA Unite d'Agronomie, 71, avo Edouard Bourleaux,
BP 81, 33883 Villenave D'Ornon Cedex, France
SAGAN, M.
lNRA Station de Genetique et Amelioration des Plantes,
Domaine d'Epoisses, 21110 Bretenieres, France
SOUSSANA, J.F.
lNRA Station d'Agronomie, 12 Avenue du Brezet,
63039 Clermont-Ferrand Cedex 02, France
