Internal efficiency of nutrient utilization: what is and how to measure it during vegetative plant growth?

SANTA-MARÍA GE; MORICONI JI; OLIFERUK S

JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY

OXFORD UNIV PRESS

Lugar: Oxford; Año: 2015

0022-0957

The efficient use of the resources required by plants to sustain crop  production is considered an important objective in agriculture. In this  regard, the idea of developing crops with enhanced ability to utilize the mineral nutrients already taken by roots has been proposed. In recent years powerful tools that allow the association of phenotypic variation to  high resolution genetic maps of crop plants have also emerged. To take advantage of these tools, accurate methods are needed to estimate the  internal efficiency of nutrient utilization (ENU) at the whole plant level,  which makes necessary to use suitable conceptual and experimental approaches. In this contribution we unveil some inconsistencies in the  definitions of ENU commonly used for the vegetative stage and suggest  the convenience to adopt a dynamic definition. The idea that ENU should  inform on the relationship between carbon and mineral nutrient economy  just during the period under which growth is actually affected by low  internal nutrient concentration is here advocated as a guide for the  selection of adequate operational ENU formulae. We highlight the  convenience of using experimental approaches that allow removing the influence of nutrient acquisition efficiency on ENU estimations. It is  proposed that the use of simulation models could help to refine the  conclusions obtained through these experimental procedures. The limitations imposed by several potential trade-offs in breeding for high ENU are also considered. Finally, we discuss the possibility to extend the dynamic approach to the reproductive stage of plant development.