Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Feb 24;12(2):e0171321.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171321. eCollection 2017.

Influence of nitrogen and phosphorous on the growth and root morphology of Acer mono

Muhammad Razaq  1 , Peng Zhang  1 , Hai-Long Shen  1 , Salahuddin  1   2
Affiliations

Influence of nitrogen and phosphorous on the growth and root morphology of Acer mono

Muhammad Razaq et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Nitrogen and phosphorous are critical determinants of plant growth and productivity, and both plant growth and root morphology are important parameters for evaluating the effects of supplied nutrients. Previous work has shown that the growth of Acer mono seedlings is retarded under nursery conditions; we applied different levels of N (0, 5, 10, and 15 g plant-1) and P (0, 4, 6 and 8 g plant-1) fertilizer to investigate the effects of fertilization on the growth and root morphology of four-year-old seedlings in the field. Our results indicated that both N and P application significantly affected plant height, root collar diameter, chlorophyll content, and root morphology. Among the nutrient levels, 10 g N and 8 g P were found to yield maximum growth, and the maximum values of plant height, root collar diameter, chlorophyll content, and root morphology were obtained when 10 g N and 8 g P were used together. Therefore, the present study demonstrates that optimum levels of N and P can be used to improve seedling health and growth during the nursery period.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Combined and single effect of NP on plant height and collar diameter of Acer mono seedling.
Different letters show the level of significance. Abbreviation N, Nitrogen; P, Phosphorous; NxP; Interaction.
Fig 2
Fig 2
a-b. Combined and single effect of NP on chlorophylls a, b and carotene of Acer mono seedling. Different letters show the level of significance. Abbreviation N, Nitrogen; P, Phosphorous; NxP, Interaction.
Fig 3
Fig 3
a-c. Combined and single effect of NP on root length, root diameter, and specific root length (SRL) of first, second and third order root of Acer mono seedling. Interaction values of specific root length (SRL) of second and third order root were non significant. Different letters show the level of significance. Abbreviation N, Nitrogen; P, Phosphorous; NxP, Interaction; RL, root length.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Masaki T, Suzuki W, Niiyama K, Iida S, Tanaka H, Nakashizuka T. Community structure of a species-rich temperate forest, Ogawa Forest Reserve, central Japan. Vegetatio.1992; 98(2):97–111.
    1. Mexal JG, Cuevas Rangel RA, Negreros-Castillo P, Paraguirre Lezama C. Nursery production practices affect survival and growth of tropical hardwoods in Quintana Roo, Mexico. Forest Ecology and Management. 2002; 168(1–3):125–133.
    1. Shen JP, Zhang LM, Guo JF, Ray JL, He JZ. Impact of long-term fertilization practices on the abundance and composition of soil bacterial communities in Northeast China. Applied Soil Ecology. 2010; 46(1):119–124.
    1. Lincoln MC, Will RE, Morris LA, Carter EA, Markewitz D, Britt JR, et al. Soil change and loblolly pine (Pinustaeda) seedling growth following site preparation tillage in the Upper Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States. Forest Ecology and Management. 2007; 242:558–568.
    1. Jose S, Merritt S, Ramsey CL. Growth, nutrition, photosynthesis and transpiration responses of long leaf pine seedlings to light, water and nitrogen. Forest Ecology and Management. 2003; 180(1–3):335–344.

LinkOut - more resources