Nodulation and nitrogen accumulation in pulses vary with species, cultivars, growth stages, and environments

Abstract

Biological N2-fixation underpins the role of pulse crops in the development of sustainable cropping systems, but it is uncertain how nodulation and N accumulation may differ with pulse species, cultivars, and environments. This 3 yr field study investigated nodulation at the early and late flowering stages and seed and straw N uptake for chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), faba bean (Vicia faba L.), field pea (Pisum sativum L.), and lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.). At early flowering, all pulses except dry bean had more nodules in the wetter (2010) than drier year (2009). Faba bean had the most nodules followed by field pea and chickpea, while the nodulation varied with plant growth stages and environments. For both pea and lentil, more nodules were observed at early flowering, but higher nodule biomass was obtained at late flowering. Chickpea had higher nodule biomass at late than early flowering but number of nodules varied with year. Seed N uptake was highest in field pea, whereas straw N uptake was highest in faba bean. Our results suggest a possibility of improving pulse N2-fixation by targeting nodule numbers and nodule biomass, although the outcome of plant N uptake will vary with environments.

Nitrogen and phosphorus uptake and nitrogen fixation estimation of faba bean in western Canada

“…(2011) and Hossain et al. (2018). However, when comparing faba bean grain N uptake, the data showed a similar trend with results of Bueckert et al.…”

Agronomic Advancement in Tillage, Crop Rotation, Soil Health, and Genetic Gain in Durum Wheat Cultivation: A 17-Year Canadian Story

“…In pea, abundance of several rhizobacteria is significantly linked with the growth of durum plant shoot and roots. Also, plant genotypes differ in influencing type and frequency of soil microbiomes [63,87,130]. These results partly explain the large rotation effects of pulse crop's selection of rhizobacterial communities on durum wheat growth.…”

“…A pulse-durum wheat rotation system has been shown to have significant advantages in soil water use and N supply, compared with cereal-based monoculture systems. The magnitude of the rotational effect on the following durum wheat varies with the different species and cultivars of the pulse crops grown the previous year [43,62,63]. The mechanisms responsible for the increased productivity of durum wheat following annual pulses are unclear.…”

Source-to-Sink Translocation of Carbon and Nitrogen Is Regulated by Fertilization and Plant Population in Maize-Pea Intercropping

“…Key processes in the formation of crop yield are carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) accumulation in plant tissues (Xie et al, 2014; Hossain et al, 2018) and the translocation of the photosynthates from vegetative tissues to the grain sink (Anbessa et al, 2007; Xie et al, 2015). The outcome of these processes is largely reflected by nutrients available to the crop (Gan et al, 2010) and the uptake capacity of the host plants (Niu et al, 1998; Wang et al, 2008).…”