The amount of yield and adaptation of a cultivar to a new environment is strongly related to nutrient uptake ability. The aim of this study was to compare nutrient uptake ability of 21 local and/or standard olive varieties grown under Mediterranean climatic conditions. Elemental compositions of olive leaves were determined for two consecutive years. The highest yields were obtained from 'Gemlik', 'Manzanilla', 'Memecik', and 'Hojiblanca' varieties. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and manganese (Mn) content of leaves were comparatively higher in the high-yielding year (2004) whereas iron (Fe) and copper (Cu) contents were lower. Nutrient uptake ability and usage efficiency of olive varieties were different. Mineral composition of leaves was variety dependent and different groups of varieties showed higher leaf concentration for each element. Therefore, it can be concluded that the variation in the nutrient uptake ability may be used as a criterion for adaptation of a variety to a new ecological environment.

Field experiment was conducted during 2003-04 to study the effect of vermicompost, farmyard manure and water hyacinth compost in comparison to chemically fertilized and unfertilized plots on crop-plants in HYV Swarna and local variety Magaisal. The experiment followed split plot design with two varieties of rice in the main plots and five nutrient sources randomized in sub plots. Signifi cant variation in grain yield between the varieties, among the nutrient sources and their interactions was observed. Grain yield recorded in HYV Swarna was higher to local variety Mugaisal irrespective of the treatments and hence Swarna was considered to be more tolerant to Mugaisal. Among the nutrient sources, treatment with vermicompost imparted maximum grain yield to all other nutrient sources irrespective of varieties.

This study investigates macroelement contents (N, P, K, Ca, Mg) and their quality relations of 4 scion grape varieties (Italian Riesling, White Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet sauvignon) on 6 rootstock varieties (5C, 5BB, 125AA, 140Ru, 110R, Fercal) between 2001 and 2005. A field experiment was set up at Szentmiklós Hill (on the border of the town of Pécs) in southern part of Hungary in 1999. The investigated rootstocks had no statistically proven effect on the nitrogen levels of the leaves, but the scion varieties had. Phosphorus content of the leaves on rootstocks with Berlandieri x Riparia genetic background (5C, 5BB, 125AA) was lower at blooming than that on other investigated rootstocks. We found statistically significant differences in the calcium and magnesium content of leaves regarding rootstock and scion varieties too.

The pits from date palm fruits (Phoenix dactylifera L.) are nutrient dense but the nutrient composition across varieties has not been extensively studied. In the present study, 18 leading varieties of date pits from date fruits cultivated in the United Arab Emirates (Khalas, Barhe, Lulu, Shikat alkahlas, Sokkery, Bomaan, Sagay, Shishi, Maghool, Sultana, Fard, Maktoomi, Naptit Saif, Jabri, Kodary, Dabbas, Raziz and Shabebe) were analyzed and compared for their chemical and physical properties. Dietary fiber, proximate analysis, micronutrients, and physical properties (weight, length, and density) were determined. Significant differences (P<0.05) in the measured parameters were observed among the different varieties. The results show that date pits, depending on the variety, contain significant but quite variable amounts of macronutrients and micronutrients, but all varieties are excellent sources of dietary fiber and may therefore serve as important constituents of functional foods.

Soil salinity suppresses plant growth by reducing, among other factors, the acquisition of essential nutrients by roots and their transport to shoots. However, studies on the intra-specific differences in nutrient accumulation under salinity are scarce. A study was conducted to determine varietal differences in (a) nodal mineral concentrations and (b) sprouting, growth, and nutrient acquisition by sprouts of 7 sugarcane varieties under increased NaCl salinity. Although significant varietal differences were observed in sprouting, shoot and root dry mass, and number of roots in saline soil, varieties CPF-237 and CP-4333 had a smaller reduction in most of these attributes. Although non-significant, varieties exhibited differences in the nodal nutrient contents, which were correlated with sprouts' growth characteristics and appeared to have great involvement in the salinity tolerance of the varieties. All the varieties accumulated Na⁺ and Cl⁻ in saline soil, and all had a reduction in macro- and micronutrients. No correlations were shown between Na⁺ or Cl⁻ and the level of the nutrients under control. However, correlations of Na⁺ and Cl⁻, although negative with dry weights, were more significant for shoots than for roots under salinity stress. Among the nutrients, the shoot and root dry weights were more highly correlated with the micronutrient than with the macronutrient contents, suggesting a possible involvement of the former in salinity tolerance of sugarcane. In conclusion, sugarcane varieties showed fewer differences in the endogenous nodal bud nutrients but varied greatly in the acquired micronutrient concentrations by the sprouts. Thus the management of saline fields with appropriate micronutrient supply may have great implications for accruing better sugarcane yield from saline fields.

The nutritional composition of eight tomato varieties collected from greenhouses in Almería (Spain) was determined. The analyzed components included moisture, crude protein, available carbohydrates, total lipids, dietary fiber, ash, energy, vitamin C, fatty acids, carotenoid profiles, mineral elements, nitrate and oxalic acid. The output of the analyses showed higher amounts of vitamin C and carotenoid in these tomato varieties than in conventional varieties. All varieties reported in this study showed high amounts of nitrates, ranging between 108 mg in Rambo and Racimo and 470 mg in Cherry (mg/100 g fresh wt). The antioxidative capacity of the tomato extracts, evaluated both with the β-carotene breaching and with the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydracyl (DPPH) radical scavenging methods, showed that the antioxidant activity of the extracts of some verities was comparable with those of the commercial antioxidants used for similar purposes.

Standardisation of cultural practises is one of the primary objectives to make the system ecologically sustainable and economically viable. In this context, the present study was conducted to optimise the time of sowing in relation to newly released wheat varieties under 4-6 year old poplar block plantation. Six widely grown wheat varieties (PBW 502, PBW 343, WH 542, PDW 274, PBW 509 and PBW 373) were intercultivated during three consecutive crop growth seasons at three times of sowing (mid November, late November and mid December) under block plantation of poplar (Populus deltoides Bartr.) clone G-48. The grain yield and nutrient uptake of wheat varieties was higher in open conditions than under the trees. The wheat variety PBW 502 out yielded the rest of wheat varieties over different sowing times. The highest grain yield was recorded when crop was sown during mid November over the 3 years. Thus adoption of PBW 502 under poplar plantation would substantially improve the overall productivity of the system without any additional input cost. All the varieties performed better when sown early compared to one-month delay. The various growth parameters like tiller height and number, spike length and 100 grain weight contributed significantly towards higher grain yield in early sown conditions (mid November) under poplar irrespective of its age of plantation. The nutrient uptake (N, P and K) by wheat straw and grain was higher in early sown crop with longer growth span than the late sown crop. The higher quantity of N, P and K was removed from soil by PBW 509, PBW 373 and PBW 343, respectively.

Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for crop growth. The demand for nitrogen in the potato crop is relatively high. However, in organic farming nitrogen input is rather limited, compared with conventional farming. In this research nine potato varieties were tested at three nitrogen levels. Genotypic variation for yield, leaf area index, period of maximum soil cover, sensitivity for N-shortage and nitrogen efficiency under low input circumstances was found. However, in these experiments varieties differed in their strategies to maximize tuber production under low nitrogen availability

Foxtail millet(CM), a plant with high nutrient and higher heavy metal in grain, is sustainable under drought conditions. Using millet grain to produce food nutrient for human is necessary. In this study, collected foxtail millet germplasm and selected variety with high grain yield and grain quality in each ecological region as well as build-up cultivation technique in Vietnam. Total of 11 varieties of foxtail millet collected in Vietnam were described and distinguished their botanical characters. Among them, 4 varieties (CCM1, CM9, CM10 and CM11) were selected to estimate the correlations among photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and dry matter accumulation under irrigated, drought and recovering condition in a pot experiment. A field experiment was conducted to estimate the affection of three ecological regions such as Gialam (Red River Delta with an altitude of 5-20 meters), Bacha (Northern mountainous region with an altitude of 600-1000 meters) and Sapa (Northern mountainous region with an altitude of 1500-1800 meters) on several agronomic characters viz., growth duration, dry matter accumulation, grain yield and grain quality in four varieties. The average growth duration of all millet varieties were longer in Sapa (136 days) than in Bacha (130 days) and Gialam (108 days). The average grain yield of all millet varieties was highest in Sapa (2.7 ton/ha) than in Bacha (2.0 ton/ha) and Gialam (1.1 ton/ha), contributed to both the larger number of spikelets per panicle and the higher 1000-grain weight. The highest grain yield was observed in CM1 in Gialam, whereas it was found in CM9 in Bacha and Sapa. This was due the different varietal response to temperature, water supply and/or radiation. It was found that ecological regions affected protein, lipid and amylose content in millet grain. Another field experiment was conducted to study the effect of nitrogen (N) fertilizer on grain yield and grain quality of two foxtail millet varieties (CM1 and CM9) in Gialam. As application four levels of N fertilizer (O,30,45 and 60 Kg N per ha), grain yield was the highest in CM1 at 60 Kg N level (2.78 ton per ha), but highest in CM9 at 45 N level (3.02 ton per ha). This was due to the higher chlorophyll content at vegetative growth stage and dry matter accumulation at heading stage. However at high N fertilizer the grain quality decreased. Further technology would be studied on using millet grain for commercial food nutrient product.

Selection of modern varieties has typically been performed in standardized, high fertility systems with a primary focus on yield. This could have contributed to the loss of plant genes associated with efficient nutrient acquisition strategies and adaptation to soil-related biotic and abiotic stresses if such adaptive strategies incurred a cost to the plant that compromised yield. Furthermore, beneficial interactions between plants and associated soil organisms may have been made obsolete by the provision of nutrients in high quantity and in readily plant available forms. A review of evidence from studies comparing older traditional varieties to modern high yielding varieties indeed showed that this has been the case. Given the necessity to use scarce and increasingly costly fertilizer inputs more efficiently while also raising productivity on poorer soils, it will be crucial to reintroduce desirable rhizosphere-related traits into elite cultivars. Traits that offer possibilities for improving nutrient acquisition capacity, plant-microbe interactions and tolerance to abiotic and biotic soil stresses in modern varieties were reviewed. Despite the considerable effort devoted to the identification of suitable donors and of genetic factors associated with these beneficial traits, progress in developing improved varieties has been slow and has so far largely been confined to modifications of traditional breeding procedures. Modern molecular tools have only very recently started to play a rather small role. The few successful cases reviewed in this paper have shown that novel breeding approaches using molecular tools do work in principle. When successful, they involved close collaboration between breeders and scientists conducting basic research, and confirmation of phenotypes in field tests as a 'reality check'. We concluded that for novel molecular approaches to make a significant contribution to breeding for rhizosphere related traits it will be essential to narrow the gap between basic sciences and applied breeding through more interdisciplinary research that addresses rather than avoids the complexity of plant-soil interactions.