Abstract
This study examined the effects of nitrogen (N) fertilizer reduction on the carbon (C) metabolism and yield of Coreopsis tinctoria. A two-year (2020–2021) hydroponic experiment was conducted in accordance with a randomized complete group design with five N levels [0.875 mM Ca(NO3)2 (N1), 1.750 mM Ca(NO3)2 (N2), 3.500 mM Ca(NO3)2 (N3), 7.000 mM Ca(NO3)2 (N4), and 14.000 mM Ca(NO3)2 (N5)] and three replications. The results showed that low N significantly affected the functional leaf weight, C metabolism, and flower bud (or flower) numbers of C. tinctoria at harvest. Lower-N levels, especially those of the N2 treatment, significantly increased Rubisco, sucrose synthase (SS), sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), soluble acid invertase (SAI), glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGDH) activity and maintained the flower number of C. tinctoria. In addition, the balance of carbohydrates (sucrose, starch, glucose, and fructose) and ATP contents was more efficiently maintained under relatively low-N levels. These findings might suggest that reduced application of N fertilizer affects the C metabolism of leaves and maintains the number of flowers in Coreopsis tinctoria. Applying relatively low-N fertilizer levels is also a promising cultivation strategy for C. tinctoria.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31360319) and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region “13th Five-Year Plan” Horticulture Key Subject Fund Project (2016-10758-3).
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ZL and YQ initiated and designed the study; HJ, ZW, ZL, and XJ took participated in the experiment; ZL analyzed the experimental data and wrote the manuscript; and YQ and HJ provided experimental suggestions and edited the manuscript.
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Li, Z., Jiang, H., Liang, Z. et al. Reduced Application of Nitrogen Fertilizer Affects the Carbon Metabolism of Leaves and Maintains the Number of Flowers in Coreopsis tinctoria. J Plant Growth Regul 42, 922–934 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-022-10602-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-022-10602-8