Nitrogen Stress on Maize Roots in Subtropical Condition of Nepal

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Background and Objective: Nitrogen (N) is one of the most important elements for plants.Moreover, N is the most dynamic and vulnerable element.Managing N is therefore very crucial in agriculture.Various studies have been carried on the influence of yield and yield attributes of maize at different N levels.Very few studies carried out on rooting architecture.So, this study aims to understand the rooting behavior of maize and to identify efficient cultivars that perform better under N stress condition.Materials and Methods: A pot culture experiment was conducted at Lamjung district of Nepal situated at subtropical condition.Two levels of N (0 and 80 kg haG 1 N) were applied to five varieties (most promising variety) of maize viz., Deuti, Manakamana-3, QPM (Quality protein maize), Arun-2 and Rampur composite in randomized completely block design.Pot media was calculated on mass basis and required nutrients except N was placed at sufficient moisture level.Different root parameters were taken and two-way ANOVA was analyzed by using software MStat-C.The Ms-Excel 2007 was used to make graphs and figures.Results: Results showed that effect of nitrogen was significant for all the root traits except total root length and seminal root length.Interaction between N and variety was significant for root dry matter, number of seminal and crown roots and crown root length.At low N, QPM produced the maximum root dry matter, Deuti with the greatest number of seminal roots, Manakamana-3 with the maximum crown root length and Rampur composite with the highest number of crown roots.Conclusion: Under nitrogen stress condition, the physical parameters of roots perform better than sufficient level of nitrogen.It doesnʼt mean the increment in nutrient uptake efficiency in N stress condition.It requires further understanding.Rather, rooting behavior under N stressed condition varies with variety distinctly.The QPM producing the maximum root dry matter at low N and the minimum value at high N and is more tolerant and highly susceptible respectively than other variety.Rooting behavior not only influenced by soil aggregation and physical properties of soil but also with nutrient concentration.Further study is necessary to understand the nutrient uptake behavior in nutrient stress condition.

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