Pablo Prystupa

Leaf appearance, tillering and their coordination in response to NxP fertilization in barley

The aim of this work was to study the effects of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) deficiencies and their interaction on the appearance of leaves and tillers of barley (Hordeum vulgare spp. distichum L.) by analyzing the rate and duration of the appearance period. Three microcrops experiments were carried out in 200 L containers using malting barley cv. Quilmes Palomar. Treatments were a factorial combination of two levels on N and two or three levels of P fertilization. Both N and P deficiencies delayed leaf and tiller appearance rates but leaf appearance was less susceptible to nutrient deficiencies than tiller appearance. P deficiency effects on leaf emergence differed from N effects. While N deficiency diminished the rate of leaf appearance (RLA), it has no significant effect on the duration of leaf appearance or on the duration of the period from emergence to flowering. On the other hand, P deficiency diminished RLA, and increased both the duration of leaf appearance and the duration of the period from emergence to flowering.

Elastic and osmotic adjustments in rooted cuttings of several clones of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. from southeastern Australia after a drought

Summary Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh., considered as a drought tolerant species, was examined in relation to some mechanisms linked to drought tolerance (cell-wall elastic adjustment and osmotic adjustment) and to the intraspecific variation related to those features. Rooted cuttings of five clones obtained from three different provenances from Australia (Gilgandra: 106, 109; Lake Albacutya: 119, 125; Condamine: 105) were gradually submitted to a water limitation regime. Water stress curtailed relative leaf area growth rate, pre-dawn relative water content (RWC) and noon stomatal conductance (gs) in all clones. Shoot water parameters were estimated at the end of the drought period by pressure-volume (P–V) analysis through a repeat pressurization method. The curves obtained were analyzed by Schulte’s P–V Curve Analysis Program. Drought decreased very significantly the osmotic potential at full turgor (χπFT) and at the turgor loss point (χπTLP), with a significant clone effect: 105 had the lowest values (–2.12±0.04 MPa and –2.39±0.05 MPa). Osmotic adjustment (OA) on average was 0.34±0.02 MPa. Drought increased maximum bulk modulus of elasticity (ɛMAX) by 6.60.7 MPa. There were no clonal differences in either OA or elastic adjustment.Water stress increased significantly turgor potential at full turgor (χFT), and differences between control and stress plants show that the OA recorded did not fully account for the positive changes in turgor of stressed plants. Drought decreased shoot turgid mass/dry mass ratio (TM/DM), again with a significant clone effect: 105 had the lowest value (2.66±0.11). Reduced shoot TM/DM combined with increases in ɛMAXduring stress were indicative of cell wall adjustment, reduced turgor-loss volumes and tightening of the cell walls around the protoplasts, suggesting a cell size reduction. No effects were observed on RWC at the turgor loss point. A regression model that considered ɛMAX and χπFT explained best the response patterns of stressed plants. The mechanisms observed in Eucalyptus camaldulensis that delay growth while maintaining turgor and water uptake allow us to consider it as a dehydration postponement species.

Seed number and yield determination in sulfur deficient soybean crops

ABSTRACT In soybean, seed number and yield is largely determined by the environmental conditions between initial bloom and the beginning of seed filling. Four field experiments were conducted to determine the effects of two sources of sulfur (S) on crop growth during the critical period of seed number determination and yield. Ammonium sulfate and gypsum were applied at a rate of 15 kg S ha− 1. Seed yield was closely related to the number of seeds per m2 (R2 = 0.93), but seed number was not related to crop growth between bloom and the beginning of seed filling. There was no effect of fertilization on aboveground biomass accumulation until the seed filling period began. The results from this study suggest that a moderate S deficiency reduced seed yield by affecting crop growth during the seed filling period. This late effect of a moderate S deficiency could be a consequence of the known high sulfate mobility in soils and low S remobilization in plants.

Nitrogen Dynamics and Losses in Direct‐Drilled Maize Systems

Abstract The knowledge of nitrogen (N) losses in direct‐drilling agrosystems is essential to develop strategies to increase fertilizer efficiency and to minimize environmental damage. The objectives were i) to quantify the magnitude of N volatilization and leaching simultaneously as affected by different urea fertilization rates and ii) to evaluate the capacity of these specific plant–soil systems to act as a buffer to prevent nitrate leaching. Two experiments were conducted during 2001/02 and 2002/03 growing seasons in Alberti, Argentina. The crop was direct‐drilled maize and the soil a Typic Argiudoll. Ammonia losses, N uptake by crop at flowering and harvest, grain yield, N in previous crop residues, and soil nitrate content up to 2‐m depths were determined. Nitrogen availability, soil nitrate (NO3)‐N up to 1 m plus fertilizer N, was linearly and highly associated with crop N uptake at flowering (R2=0.93, P<0.01) and at harvest (R2=0.852, P<0.01). Around 17.5% of fertilizer N was lost by volatilization in 10 days. The obtained values of residual nitrate N up to the 150‐cm depth were associated (R2=0.960, P<0.001) with those predicted by the nitrate leaching and economic analysis package (NLEAP) model. Maize in the direct‐drilling system was able to cycle N from the previous crop residues, N from soil organic matter, and N from fertilizers with few losses.

Distribution and vertical stratification of carbon and nitrogen in soil under different managements in the pampean region of Argentina

One of the expected benefits of no-tillage systems is a higher rate of soil C sequestration. However, higher C retention in soil is not always apparent when no-tillage is applied, due e.g., to substantial differences in soil type and initial C content. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of no-tillage management to increase the stock of total organic C in soils of the Pampas region in Argentina. Forty crop fields under no-tillage and conventional tillage systems and seven undisturbed soils were sampled. Total organic C, total N, their fractions and stratification ratios and the C storage capacity of the soils under different managements were assessed in samples to a depth of 30 cm, in three layers (0-5, 5-15 and 15-30 cm). The differences between the C pools of the undisturbed and cultivated soils were significant (p no-tillage > conventional tillage). Based on the stratification ratio of the labile C pool (0-5/5-15 cm), the untilled were separated from conventionally tilled areas. Much of the variation in potentially mineralizable C was explained by this active C fraction (R2 = 0.61) and by total organic C (R2 = 0.67). No-till soils did not accumulate more organic C than conventionally tilled soils in the 0-30 cm layer, but there was substantial stratification of total and active C pools at no till sites. If the C stratification ratio is really an indicator of soil quality, then the C storage potential of no-tillage would be greater than in conventional tillage, at least in the surface layers. Particulate organic C and potentially mineralizable C may be useful to evaluate variations in topsoil organic matter.

Interlaboratory and Intralaboratory Testing of Soil Sulfate Analysis in Mollisols of the Pampas

Sulfur (S) deficiencies in grain and forage crops have been detected in many agricultural regions of the world, but soil tests are not commonly used as the basis for S fertilizer recommendation programs. Errors of measurements of soil sulfate were determined to assess whether the variation among and within soil-testing laboratories could be a factor that prevent the adoption of soil testing to assess soil sulfate availability. Subsamples of 10 selected soils (Mollisols) from the Pampas (Argentina) were sent in two batches to five soil-testing laboratories. Laboratories were unaware of the existence of subsamples and performed routine sulfate analysis as if these soils came from 60 different fields. Soil sulfate ranged from 3.3 to 20.6 mg kg−1. One laboratory reported sulfate values greater than the other ones, having a mean bias of 4.1 mg kg−1 S sulfate (SO4). The other four laboratories reported similar sulfate values when soils had low sulfate availability (less than 10 mg S kg−1), even when they used different extractants. Considering only these four laboratories, average interlaboratory coefficients of variations ranged from 6 to 24% for the 10 soils. Within-laboratory mean coefficients of variation (CVs) ranged from 12 to 22%. However, mean absolute errors of all laboratories were less than 1.2 mg kg−1 S-SO4. Two laboratories reported different sulfate values for the two batches of shipment (an average difference of 4.7 and 3.8 mg kg−1 of S-SO4). Laboratories using different extractants obtained similar results, suggesting that using the same extractant is not a prerequisite to standardize laboratory results in these soils. Differences between laboratories in our study were smaller than in other interlaboratory comparisons for soil sulfate. These differences could be easily detected and corrected if laboratories participate in an interlaboratory control system. The observed low mean absolute errors suggested that, in general, all laboratories achieve acceptable precision when evaluating within the same batch of determinations. Differences between batches of shipment (within laboratory error) stressed the importance of using reference material for internal quality control.