Effect of Nitrogen Fertilisation on Sugarcane Root Development and Nitrogen Accumulation in Ratoon Crops of Reunion Isla
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Effect of Nitrogen Fertilisation on Sugarcane Root Development and Nitrogen Accumulation in Ratoon Crops of Reunion Island Antoine Versini1,2 Jean Paillat4
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Daniel Poultney1,2,3 • Hamza Bachir1,2,4 • Ame´lie Fe´vrier4
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Received: 11 April 2020 / Accepted: 15 July 2020 Ó Society for Sugar Research & Promotion 2020
Abstract Most of the world’s sugar is produced from a semi-perennial plant whose root system, although being one key to its success, remains poorly understood. In this study, we sought to describe how nitrogen fertilisation is likely to affect the development of the sugarcane root system and can have significant agronomic implications. We studied sugarcane root distribution, root biomass production and root N accumulation from soil cores sampled down to a depth of 1 m throughout the growth cycle of a ratoon crop in a 144 kgN ha-1 year fertilised plot and at crop harvest in six ratoon plots with fertilisation ranging from 0 to 330 kgN ha-1 year. The development of the root system in the fertilised sugarcane plot showed 1/homogeneous colonization of the topsoil by fine roots from the early phase, followed by 2/a progressive development of thicker roots mainly localised under the sugarcane row. The results suggested that nitrogen fertilisation could reduce root density in the topsoil layer. The root-to-shoot ratio of biomass and N mass decreased, respectively, from 2.1 to 0.3 and from 1.2 to 0.7 throughout an annual crop growth cycle in a fertilised plot. When sugarcane was not fertilised, an increase of 70% root biomass was observed as compared to fertilised sugarcane. In addition, & Antoine Versini [email protected] 1
CIRAD, UPR78, Recyclage et risque, 97400 Saint-Denis, La Re´union, France
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Recyclage et Risque, CIRAD, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France
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Rune´o, 53 Rue Sainte-Anne, 97400 Saint-Denis, La Re´union, France
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eRcane, 29 Rue Emmerez de Charmoy, 97490 Sainte-Clotilde, La Re´union, France
approximately half of the cane N mass was found in the root compartment of the non-fertilised crop. The root system of sugarcane appeared to be a major pool of N that should be considered in studies dealing with fertiliser N use efficiency and N cycling in sugarcane agroecosystems. Keywords Sugarcane Root development Nitrogen fertilisation Belowground biomass Belowground nitrogen accumulation Root-to-shoot ratio
Introduction Plant roots represent a direct interface between the plant and the soil and have been recognised as an important focus for investigations in field crop research. Improving our understanding of the root development is fundamental to improve crop management and to enhance agroecosystem productivity (Eshel and Beeckman 2013). In particular, a better understanding of the root growth dynamic throughout the crop cycle may lead to more efficient use of water and nutrients through optimised irrigation and fertilisation practices (Garnett et al. 2009). Despite the need to investigate root development, studies are rare and valuable due to the metho
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