Effects of nitrate on nodulation and growth of two mung bean (Vignaradiata [L.] Wilczek) cultivars
2004
Elahi, N. | Akhtar, W.,Bahauddin Zakariya Univ., Multan (Pakistan).Inst. of Pure and Applied Biology
Present study was conducted to investigate the effects of nitrate onroot nodulation and growth of two mung bean (Vigna radiata [L.]Wilczek) cultivars, NM-54 and NM-98, in sand culture. The experiment wasarranged in a completely randomized design with eighteen replicates andfour nitrate treatments (0, 2, 5 and 10 mM KNO3). Plants were harvested5, 8 and 10 weeks after sowing when they were at the first flowering,beginning of pod growth and middle of pod growth stages, respectively.Nodulation in both the cultivars was stimulated in the presence of 2 mMnitrate but was increasingly repressed by the higher levels of nitrate.At 10 mM nitrate level, nodulation was generally completely inhibited inboth the cultivars. Dry mass of plants, at each harvest, substantiallyincreased in both cultivars at all the nitrate levels. The maximumincrease in dry mass, however, occurred at 5 mM nitrate. A similarpattern was observed for reproductive growth of the two cultivars asthe number of flowers per plant, number of pods per plant and freshweight of pods per plant generally increased with increasing nitrogenlevels. The two cultivars differed in their response to increasing level ofnitrate; At lower nitrate levels, cultivar NM-54 showed higher growthcompared to cultivar NM-98 whereas reverse was true at higher nitratelevels. Cultivar NM-98 generally showed increased nodulation compared tothat of cultivar NM-54. The results highlighted the adverse effects ofhigher nitrate levels on nodulation and plant growth emphasizingappropriate, ecologically safe nitrate application for better crop yield.
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