Journal
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
Volume 10, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.01041
Keywords
root-crops; nitrogen; fertigation; carbohydrates; physiological indicators
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Funding
- International Potash Institute through International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
- African Development Bank through International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
- Center for Fertilization and Plant Nutrition (CFPN)
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Cassava (M. esculenta Crantz), feeding countless people and attracting markets worldwide, is a model for traditional crops that need physiology-based fertigation (fertilization through irrigation) standards in intensive cultivation. Hence, we studied the effects of 10 to 200 mg L-1 nitrogen (N) fertigation on growth and yields of cassava and targeted alterations in their photosynthetic, transpiration, and carbohydrate management. We found that increasing irrigation N from 10 to 70 mg L-1 increased cassava's photosynthesis and transpiration but supported only the canopy's growth. At 100 mg N L-1 cassava reached a threshold of sugar in leaves (similar to 47 mg g(-1)), began to accumulate starch and supported higher yields. Yet, at 200 mg N L-1, the canopy became too demanding and plants had to restrain transpiration, reduce photosynthesis, decrease carbohydrates, and finally lower yields. We concluded that the phases of cassava response to nitrogen are: 1) growth that does not support yields at low N, 2) productive N application, and 3) excessive use of N. Yet traditional leaf mineral analyses fail to exhibit these responses, and therefore we propose a simple and inexpensive carbohydrate measurement to guide a precise use of N.
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