Call number: LD2668 .T4 1984 R327 / Master of Science

This item was digitized as part of the Million Books Project led by Carnegie Mellon University and supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Cornell University coordinated the participation of land-grant and agricultural libraries in providing historical agricultural information for the digitization project; the University of Arizona Libraries, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Office of Arid Lands Studies collaborated in the selection and provision of material for the digitization project.

Thesis (MSc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to determine (l) the influence of elevated dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) on the nitrogen use efficiencies (NUE) of tomato seedlings grown with different nitrogen sources, (2) how changes in the regulation and activities of nitrate reductase (NR), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPc), carbonic anhydrase (CA) and subsequent changes in metabolites would account for observed changes in NUE, and (3) to what extent elevated DIC contributed to the carbon budget of plants grown with different nitrogen sources. Lycopersicon esculentum cv. Fl44 seedlings were grown in hydroponic culture (pH 5.8) with 2 mM of either N03- or NH4 + and the solutions were aerated with either 0 ppm or 5000 ppm CO2 concentrations. The similar NUEs of NH/-fed plants grown with either root-zone CO2 concentration were largely due to their similar RGRs and N uptake rates. Elevated root-zone DIC had an initial stimulatory effect on N~ + uptake rates, but it seems as if this effect of DIC physiological processes was cancelled out by the toxic effect of unassimilated NH/. The NUE for N03--fed plants supplied with 5000 ppm root-zone CO2 was higher relative to 0 ppm root-zone CO2 and it was possibly due to the higher relative growth rates for similar N uptake rates of 5000 ppm compared to 0 ppm root-zone CO2. Nitrate-fed plants grown with 5000 ppm compared to 0 ppm root-zone CO2 had higher in vivo NR and in vitro NR and PEPc activities. These increases in enzymes activities possibly lead to increases in organic acid synthesis, which could have been used for biomass accumulation. This would account for the increased relative growth rates of N03--fed plants grown with 5000 ppm compared to 0 ppm root-zone CO2. The increasing rootzone CO2 concentrations resulted in the Ó15N values of NH/-plants becoming more positive indicating an absence of enzymatic discrimination. This may have been due to the inhibitory effect of DIC on Nll,+ uptake, causing plants to utilise both internal isotopes equally. The Ól3C studies showed that PEPc contributed equally to both N03-- and NH/-fed plants over the long term. From this it can be concluded that the lower NUE of NH/-compared to N03--fed plants grown with 5000 ppm root-zone C02 was due to increased N uptake and exudation of organic compounds into the nutrient solution. Experiments with 813C also showed that at increasing rootzone CO2 concentrations, PEPc made a bigger contribution to the carbon budget via the anaplerotic reaction. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie was om (1) die invloed van verhoogde opgeloste anorganiese koolstof dioksied (DIC) op die stikstofverbruiksdoeltreffenheid (NUE) van plante wat op verkillende stikstofbronne gekweek is, te bepaal. (2) Veranderinge in die regulering van nitraat reduktase (NR), fosfo-enolpirovaatkarboksilase (PEPc) en karboonsuuranhidrase (CA) is bestudeer en gekorreleer met waargeneemde verskille in NUE. (3) 'n Beraming van die mate waartoe verhoogde DIC bydra tot die koolstofbegroting van plante, gekweek op verskillende stikstofbronne, word bespreek. Lycopersicon esculentum cv. F144 saailinge is in waterkultuur (pH 5.8) met 2 mM N03- of NH/ gekweek en die oplossings is alternatiewelik met 0 ppm of 5000 ppm CO2 belug. Die NUEs van plante gekweek met NH/ en belug met albei C02 konsentrasies was vergelykbaar grootliks as gevolg van hulooreenkomstige relatiewe groeitempo's en Nopname. DIC het aanvanklik NH/ opname gestimuleer, maar enige latere stimulerende effek van DIC op fisiologiese prosesse was klaarblyklik uitgekanselleer deur N~ + toksiteit veroorsaak deur vertraagde assimilasie. Die NUE van plante gekweek met N03- en 5000 ppm CO2 was hoër as dié van plante gekweek met N03- en 0 ppm CO2. Dit is moontlik gekoppel aan hoër relatiewe groeitempo's teenoor onveranderde N opname tempo's. Plante gekweek met N03- en 5000 ppm CO2 het hoër in vivo NR en in vitro NR en PEPc aktiwiteite getoon as plante gekweek met N03- en 0 ppm CO2. Bogenoemde toenames in ensiem aktiwiteite word verbind met biomassa toename deur verhoogde organiese suur sintese. Dit bied 'n moontlike verklaring vir die hoër relatiewe groeitempo's van plante gekweek met N03- en 5000 ppm CO2 teenoor plante gegroei met N03- en 0 ppm CO2. Die 015N waardes van plante gekweek met NH/ en 5000 ppm CO2 was meer positief as dié van plante gekweek met Nl-l,+ en 0 ppm CO2 wat gedui het op die afwesigheid van ensiematiese diskriminasie. Dit kon as gevolg gewees het van die vertragende effek van DIC op Nl-la + opname wat daartoe sou lei dat die plante beide isotope eweveel inkorporeer. Eksperimente met ol3C het getoon dat PEPc oor 'n lang tydperk eweveel begedra het tot die koolstofbegroting van plante gekweek met beide N03- and N~+. Hiervan kan afgelei word dat die laer NUE van plante gekweek met NH4 + en 5000 ppm C02 in vergelyking met dié van plante gekweek met N03- en 5000 ppm CO2 die gevolg was van verhoogde NH/ opname en uitskeiding van aminosure in die voedingsoplossing. Eksperimente met 0"c het ook getoon dat verhoogde DIe konsentrasies die bydrae van PEPc tot die plant se koolstofbegroting laat toeneem.

published_or_final_version / Botany / Master / Master of Philosophy

No description available.

The growth and Nitrogen fixation by one low salt tolerant alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and two germination salt tolerant selections inoculated with were investigated at two salt levels (0, -0.6 Mpa) and two N rates (1, 5ppm) using a system which automatically recirculates a nutrient solution. The high level of salinity (-0.6 Mpa osmotic potential of culture solution) resulted in substantial reduction in the N fixation percentage and total fixed N. The effect of salinity was more pronounced for later cuttings than for the earlier cutting. The N fixation percentages were substantially decreased by increasing N level and the reduction was enhanced by time. The N treatment levels did not exhibit a significant effect on total fixed N. Cultivars did not differ in either growth or N fixation. However, the interaction of N and salinity significantly decreased the percentage and amount of N fixation.

This investigation has determined the presence of biological nitrogen fixation in two reservoirs in the southwestern United States: Lake Arlington and Lake Ray Hubbard. Subsequent tests have gathered baseline data on the effects of various biological, chemical, and physical parameters on in situ nitrogen fixation in these reservoirs. Of specific importance is the relationship between nitrogen fixation arid occasional blooms of blue-green algae which produce such problems as testes and odors in these water-supply impoundments.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Agronomy / P.V. Vara Prasad / Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is a relatively drought- and heat-tolerant cereal crop. Global demand and consumption of agricultural crops for food, feed, and fuel is increasing at a rapid pace. To satisfy the growing worldwide demand for grain, production practices must be well optimized and managed. The objectives of the present study were: to optimize sorghum production by determining the best management practices (planting date, row spacing, seeding rate, hybrid maturity) for growth and yield, to evaluate the agronomic responsiveness of grain sorghum genotypes to nitrogen (N) fertilizer and to develop a partial financial budget to N fertilizer application based on best management practices. In order to meet these objectives, field experiments were conducted in 2009, 2010 and 2011 at Manhattan, Belleville, Ottawa, Hutchinson, Hays, at KSU Experiment Stations and Salina, and Randolph at Private Farms. Results indicated that early planting date (late May) and narrow row spacing (25 cm) providing the most equidistant spacing, produced better plant growth, light interception, yield components (number of grains per panicle, 300-grain weight), and biological yield. Results indicated that with increasing N rate, there was a proportional increase in chlorophyll SPAD meter reading, leaf color scores and number of green leaves. There was a significant difference among hybrids for N uptake, NUE and grain yield. However, there was no effect of N and no interaction between N and hybrid on grain yield. Over all, the genotypes with high NUE also had higher grain yield. Economic analysis using partial budget indicated that all N levels had positive gross benefit greater than control at all locations. However, the response varied across locations. Our research has shown that sorghum responds to changing management practices and opportunities exist to increase grain yield by optimizing planting date, seeding rate, row spacing, N application and selection of genotypes.

A folha é o principal órgão de absorção e assimilação de nutrientes dos membros epífitos com tanque da família Bromeliaceae. Pouco se conhece sobre a nutrição dessas bromélias, entretanto algumas evidências (TAKAHASHI, 2007) indicaram a possibilidade de haver uma absorção preferencial do nitrogênio na porção basal e a assimilação desse nutriente na porção apical foliar. Para se compreender melhor os mecanismos de assimilação do nitrogênio utilizados pelas bromélias epífitas com tanque, foi proposto neste trabalho dois principais objetivos: 1) verificar possíveis diferenças quanto à capacidade de assimilação do nitrogênio em diferentes porções foliares de uma bromélia epífita com tanque; 2) constatar possível preferência em assimilar fonte nitrogenada orgânica ou inorgânica, quando ambas estão disponíveis no interior do tanque. A estratégia utilizada para o primeiro objetivo foi cultivar bromélias da espécie Vriesea gigantea, cultivadas em casa de vegetação e registrar em suas folhas as variações temporais das atividades enzimáticas da urease, redutase do nitrato (NR), sintetase da glutamina (GS), desidrogenase do glutamato dependente de NADH (GDH-NADH) e arginase após o fornecimento, no interior do tanque das bromélias, de uma solução nutritiva contendo NO3-/NH4+ (3:2) ou uréia (5mM de N total), como fontes de nitrogênio. Foram analisadas as atividades enzimáticas nas porções apical e basal foliar de Vriesea gigantea nos seguintes tempos: 0, 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 48, 51, 54, 57, 60 e 73 horas após a rega. Além disso, também foram quantificadas as concentrações do amônio e da uréia endógenos presentes nos tecidos foliares de ambas as porções. Os resultados mostraram que, independente do tratamento, as atividades de GS, GDH e arginase foram mais altas na porção apical em todos os tempos de coleta. Já as atividades da NR e urease, foram crescentes e mais intensas na porção basal, da mesma forma como foi visto para as concentrações endógenas de amônio durante as primeiras 24 horas. As maiores concentrações de uréia endógenas também foram registradas principalmente na porção basal foliar. Esses resultados permitem inferir que a região apical pode estar envolvida, preferencialmente, com a assimilação do nitrogênio, enquanto que a basal, com a sua absorção, redução do nitrato e hidrólise da uréia. Além disso, sugere-se também que ocorra o transporte de amônio da base para a região de sua assimilação em aminoácidos (ápice) através do xilema e apoplasto. Em relação ao segundo objetivo, a estratégia utilizada foi fornecer à bromélia Vriesea gigantea com uma solução nutritiva que continha 5mM de nitrogênio total, disponível na forma inorgânica + orgânica (NH4+/NO3- + uréia nas proporções 1:1 ou 1:3, respectivamente). Como controle foram empregados os seguintes tratamentos: ausência de nitrogênio e presença de somente fontes inorgânicas (5mM de nitrogênio total). As porções apical e basal das folhas foram coletadas 9 horas após o fornecimento das soluções nutritivas e, posteriormente, utilizadas nas análises enzimáticas referentes às atividades da urease, NR, GS, e GDH-NADH. Além disso, foram quantificados em ambas as porções os teores endógenos de amônio, uréia, amido, açúcares totais e clorofila total. Também foram determinados as densidades de tricomas e estômatos nas duas regiões foliares. Verificou-se que as maiores atividades da GS (porção apical) e GDH (porção basal) foram registradas nos dois tratamentos com uréia (1:1 e 1:3) quando comparadas com as dos dois controles. As maiores concentrações de amônio endógeno na porção basal também foram detectadas nos mesmos tratamentos com uréia (1:1 e 1:3). Já a atividade da NR apresentou os maiores valores nos tratamentos de proporção 1:1 e no controle 2 (com somente fontes inorgânicas) na porção basal foliar. De modo interessante, a GS não mostrou o mesmo desempenho nos dois tratamentos (1:1 e controle 2), sendo que, no tratamento de proporção 1:1, a atividade foi o dobro daquela registrada no controle 2. Todos esses resultados analisados em conjunto permitem inferir que a bromélia Vriesea gigantea pode ter preferência por assimilar o nitrogênio proveniente da uréia quando essa fonte se encontra disponível no interior do tanque, mesmo quando também há a presença de formas inorgânicas (nitrato e amônio). / The leaf is considered the most important vegetative organ of tank epiphytic bromeliads due to its ability to absorb and assimilate nutrients. Little is known about the nutrition of these bromeliads, but there are evidences that the basal region of the leaf may be preferentially involved with the absorption of nutrients, whereas the apical region may be involved with its assimilation (TAKAHASHI, 2007). In order to better understand the mechanisms utilized by these tank epiphytic bromeliads to optimize the nitrogen acquisition and assimilation, it was proposed in this study two main objectives: 1) verify the existence of a differential capacity to assimilate nitrogen in different leaf portions of a tank epiphytic bromeliad; 2) analyze the nitrogen assimilation preference between inorganic and organic nitrogen sources when both are available in the tank water. The experiments of the first objective were conducted using Vriesea gigantea plants, a typical specie of tank epiphytic bromeliad, cultivated in greenhouse. Nutrient solution containing NO3-/NH4+ (3:2) or urea as nitrogen source (5mM of total N) was supplied into the tank of these plants and the activities of urease, nitrate reductase (NR), glutamine synthetase (GS), NADH-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH-NADH) and arginase were quantified in apical and basal leaf portions after 0, 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 48, 51, 54, 57, 60 and 73 hours. The ammonium and urea present in the tissues were also analyzed. Independent of the nitrogen source utilized, GS, GDH and arginase activities were higher in the apical portions of leaves in all the period analyzed. On the other hand, the opposite was observed in relation to NR and urease activities. The highest activities were detected in the basal portion of leaves at all harvest times, with increasing values during the first 24 hours of experiment. Interestingly, this same pattern was also observed in relation to the endogenous ammonium and urea: the highest contents were detected in the basal portion of leaves, with a gradual increase of ammonium in the first 24 hours of analysis. These results suggest that the basal portion of leaves was preferentially involved in nitrogen uptake, nitrate reduction and urea hydrolysis, while the apical portion was the main responsible for nitrogen assimilation. Moreover, it was possible to infer that the ammonium may be transported from the base (uptake region) to the apex of the leaves (the main nitrogen assimilation region) through the xylem and apoplast. In order to analyze the nitrogen assimilation preference of Vriesea gigantea, a nutrient solution containing 5mM of nitrogen containing a mixture of inorganic and organic sources (NH4+/NO3- + urea in the proportion 1:1 or 1:3, respectively) were supplied into the tank of the bromeliads. As a control, a nutrient solution containing no nitrogen source (control 1) or 5mM of inorganic nitrogen sources (control 2) were used. The basal and apical leaf tissues were collected after 9 hours and the activities of urease, NR, GS and GDH-NADH were analyzed. Endogenous ammonium, urea, starch, total soluble carbohydrates and total chlorophyll were also quantified. Furthermore, the density of trichomes and stomata were also analyzed on the abaxial leaf surface of both regions. The highest activities of GS (apex) and GDH (base), as well as the endogenous ammonium content (base), were registered in both treatments with urea (1:1 and 1:3) in comparison with both controls. A different pattern was obtained analyzing NR: the highest activities were observed in plants that received nutrient solutions containing only inorganic nitrogen (control 2) or a mixture of inorganic and organic nitrogen in the proportion 1:1. Moreover, an interesting behavior was observed in relation to the GS activity: it was detected the double activity of this enzyme when Vriesea gigantea was in contact with a mixture of inorganic and organic nitrogen (1:1) in comparison to the plants in the presence of only inorganic nitrogen sources. All results suggest that Vriesea gigantea may have preference to assimilate organic nitrogen source (urea), when the inorganic nitrogen sources (ammonium and nitrate) are also available in the tank water.

Thesis. 1978. Sc.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Chemical Engineering. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND SCIENCE. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 307-314. / Sc.D.