Effect of slow release nitrogenous fertilizers and biochar on growth,physiology, yield,and nitrogen use efficiency of sunflower under arid climate

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Sunflower plants need nitrogen consistently and in higher amount for optimum growth and development. However, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of...     

Wetting mechanism and morphological adaptation; leaf rolling enhancing atmospheric water acquisition in wheat crop—a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Several plant species such as grasses are dominant in many habitats including arid and semi-arid areas. These species survive in these regions by...     

Slow-release nitrogen fertilizers enhance growth,yield, NUE in wheat crop and reduce nitrogen losses under an arid environment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Higher demands of food led to higher nitrogen application to promote cropping intensification and produce more which may have negative effects on the...     

Nitrogen and plant population change radiation capture and utilization capacity of sunflower in semi-arid environment

The combination of nitrogen and plant population expresses the spatial distribution of crop plants. The spatial distribution influences canopy structure and development, radiation capture, accumulated intercepted radiation (Sa), radiation use efficiency (RUE), and subsequently dry matter production. We hypothesized that the sunflower crop at higher plant populations and nitrogen (N) rates would achieve early canopy cover, capture more radiant energy, utilize radiation energy more efficiently, and ultimately increase economic yield. To investigate the above hypothesis, we examined the influences of leaf area index (LAI) at different plant populations (83,333, 66,666, and 55,555 plants ha^?1) and N rates (90, 120, and 150 kg ha^?1) on radiation interception (Fi), photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) accumulation (Sa), total dry matter (TDM), achene yield (AY), and RUE of sunflower. The experimental work was conducted during 2012 and 2013 on sandy loam soil in Punjab, Pakistan. The sunflower crop captured more than 96% of incident radiant energy (mean of all treatments), 98% with a higher plant population (83,333 plants ha^?1), and 97% with higher N application (150 kg ha^?1) at the fifth harvest (60 days after sowing) during both study years. The plant population of 83,333 plants ha^?1 with 150 kg N ha^?1 ominously promoted crop, RUE, and finally productivity of sunflower (AY and TDM). Sunflower canopy (LAI) showed a very close and strong association with Fi (R ² = 0.99 in both years), PAR (R ² = 0.74 and 0.79 in 2012 and 2013, respectively), TDM (R ² = 0.97 in 2012 and 0.91 in 2013), AY (R ² = 0.95 in both years), RUE for TDM (RUE_TDM) (R ² = 0.63 and 0.71 in 2012 and 2013, respectively), and RUE for AY (RUE_AY) (R ² = 0.88 and 0.87 in 2012 and 2013, respectively). Similarly, AY (R ² = 0.73 in 2012 and 0.79 in 2013) and TDM (R ² = 0.75 in 2012 and 0.84 in 2013) indicated significant dependence on PAR accumulation of sunflower. High temperature during the flowering stage in 2013 shortened the crop maturity duration, which reduced the LAI, leaf area duration (LAD), crop growth rate (CGR), TDM, AY, Fi, Sa, and RUE of sunflower. Our results clearly revealed that RUE was enhanced as plant population and N application rates were increased and biomass assimilation in semi-arid environments varied with radiation capture capacity of sunflower.