Please wait a minute...
Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2025, Vol. 24 Issue (2): 480-496    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2023.12.014
Crop Science Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
Responses of yield, root traits and their plasticity to the nitrogen environment in nitrogen-efficient cultivars of drip-irrigated rice
Qingyun Tang1*, Guodong Wang2*, Lei Zhao1, Zhiwen Song1, Yuxiang Li1#

1 Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecological Agriculture, Shihezi University/Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Shihezi 832003, China

2 Northwest Oasis Water-saving Agriculture Key Laboratory, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Water and Fertilizer of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Shihezi 832000, China

 Highlights 
High-nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) rice cultivar predominantly enhance fine branch root length density and coarse branch root surface area density.
Under drip irrigation, root distribution is concentrated within the 0–10 cm soil layer, demonstrating a significant positive correlation with both yield and nitrogen use efficiency.
Cultivar with high-NUE exhibit greater root plasticity, reflecting an effective strategy for nutrient acquisition.
Download:  PDF in ScienceDirect  
Export:  BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)      
摘要  

滴灌水稻生理特征对水肥的响应已被广泛研究,但关于不同氮效率品种产量、根性状及其可塑性对氮环境的响应尚不完全清楚。试验于2020-2022以氮高效品种T-43)和氮低效品种LX-3)为材料,大田滴灌条件下设4个氮水平(0150300450kg/ha2研究了根系形态、构型、生物量、内源激素含量产量和氮利用效率的关系。【结果】1)在相同施氮水平下,与LX-3相比,T-43产量、氮肥偏生产力、细分枝根根长密度(FRLD)、地上部干物质量、根系生长素(IAA、玉米素和玉米素核苷(Z+ZR)分别显著提高11.4~18.9%11.3~13.5%11.6~15.7%、9.9~31.1%6.1~48.1%22.8~73.6%,而根冠比、根系脱落酸(ABA)显著降低(P<0.05)。2)与N0相比,施氮显著增加了水稻根系形态指标和内源激素含量(P<0.05),N22品种产量、根长密度(RLD)、表面积密度(SAD)、体积密度(RVD)、根系内源激素(IAAZ+ZR显著提高61.6~71.6%64.2~74.0%69.9~105.6%6.67~9.91%54.0~67.8%51.4~58.9%;与N3相比,N2下氮肥偏生产力和氮肥农学效率提高52.3~62.4%39.2~63.0%3)根系性状可塑性对氮环境的响应品种差异显著(P<0.05),相比LX-3T-43表现出更高的根长和更大的比表面积,是适应养分环境变化的一种策略。【结论】氮高效品种通过增加细分枝根根长密度、上层根系分布和根系内源激素(IAAZ+ZR,优化根冠比,并通过根系塑性表现出更高的养分资源获取策略,进而实现产量和氮利用效率的提高。



Abstract  
The responses of drip-irrigated rice physiological traits to water and fertilizers have been widely studied.  However, the responses of yield, root traits and their plasticity to the nitrogen environment in different nitrogen-efficient cultivars are not fully understood.  An experiment was conducted from 2020–2022 with a high nitrogen use efficiency (high-NUE) cultivar (T-43) and a low-NUE cultivar (LX-3), and four nitrogen levels (0, 150, 300, and 450 kg ha–1) under drip irrigation in large fields.  The aim was to study the relationships between root morphology, conformation, biomass, and endogenous hormone contents, yield and NUE.  The results showed three main points: 1) Under the same N application rate, compared with LX-3, the yield, N partial factor productivity (PFP), fine root length density (FRLD), shoot dry weight (SDW), root indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and root zeatin and zeatin riboside (Z+ZR) of T-43 were significantly greater by 11.4–18.9, 11.3–13.5, 11.6–15.7, 9.9–31.1, 6.1–48.1, and 22.8–73.6%, respectively, while the root–shoot ratio (RSR) and root abscisic acid (ABA) were significantly lower (P<0.05); 2) nitrogen treatment significantly increased the rice root morphological indexes and endogenous hormone contents (P<0.05).  Compared to N0, the yield, RLD, surface area density (SAD), root volume density (RVD), and root endogenous hormones (IAA, Z+ZR) were significantly increased in both cultivars under N2 by 61.6–71.6, 64.2–74.0, 69.9–105.6, 6.67–9.91, 54.0–67.8, and 51.4–58.9%, respectively.  Compared with N3, the PFP and N agronomic efficiency (NAE) of nitrogen fertilizer under N2 increased by 52.3–62.4 and 39.2–63.0%, respectively; 3) the responses of root trait plasticity to the N environment significantly differed between the cultivars (P<0.05).  Compared with LX-3, T-43 showed a longer root length and larger specific surface area, which is a strategy for adapting to changes in the nutrient environment.  For the rice cultivar with high-NUE, the RSR was optimized by increasing the FRLD, root distribution in upper soil layers, and root endogenous hormones (IAA, Z+ZR) under suitable nitrogen conditions (N2).  An efficient nutrient acquisition strategy can occur through root plasticity, leading to greater yield and NUE.
Keywords:  drip irrigation rice       nitrogen environment        root traits        plasticity        yield        nitrogen use efficiency  
Received: 31 July 2023   Accepted: 17 November 2023
Fund: 
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31860345 and 31460541), the Youth Innovative Top Talents Project of Shihezi University, China (CXBJ202003), the Third Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Scientific and Technological Achievements Transfer and Transformation Project, China (KJ2023CG03).
About author:  Qingyun Tang, E-mail: 20212012005@stu.shzu.edu.cn; Guodong Wang, E-mail: 95201209@163.com; #Correspondence Yuxiang Li, Tel: +86-993-2058007, E-mail: yxli@shzu.edu.cn * These authors contributed equally to this study.

Cite this article: 

Qingyun Tang, Guodong Wang, Lei Zhao, Zhiwen Song, Yuxiang Li. 2025.

Responses of yield, root traits and their plasticity to the nitrogen environment in nitrogen-efficient cultivars of drip-irrigated rice
. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 24(2): 480-496.

Chu G, Xu R, Chen S, Xu C M, Liu Y H, Zang X F, Wang D Y. 2021. Effects of optimized cultivation patterns on root–shoot growth characteristics, water and nitrogen use efficiency and yield of rice. Chinese Journal of Rice Science35, 586–594. (in Chinese)

Deng J, Feng X, Wang D, Lu J, Chong H, Shang C, Liu K, Huang L, Tian X, Zhang Y. 2022. Root morphological traits and distribution in direct-seeded rice under dense planting with reduced nitrogen. PLoS ONE15, e0238362.

Doussan C, Pagès L, Pierret A. 2003. Soil exploration and resource acquisition by plant roots: An architectural and modelling point of view. Sustainable Agriculture23, 419–431.

Freschet G T, Cyrille V, Bourget M Y, Lorenzen M S, Fort F. 2018. Allocation, morphology, physiology, architecture: The multiple facets of plant above- and below-ground responses to resource stress. New Phytologist219, 1142–1144.

Gale M R, Grigal D F. 1987. Vertical root distributions of northern tree species in relation to successional status. Canadian Journal of Forest Research17, 829–834.

Guo Q R, Chen L. 2012. Advantages and prospect analysis of rice sub-membrane drip irrigation cultivation technology development in China. China Rice18, 36–39. (in Chinese)

Ha S, Vankova R, Yamaguchi-Shinozaki K, Shinozaki K, Tran L S P. 2012. Cytokinins: Metabolism and function in plant adaptation to environmental stresses. Trends in Plant Science17, 172–179.

He H B, Ma F Y, Yang R, Chen L, Jia B, Cui J, Fan H, Wang X, Li L. 2013. Rice performance and water use efficiency under plastic mulching with drip irrigation. PLoS ONE8, e83103.

Ji L, Li Y X, Zhang X Z, Yu H Y. 2012. Root morphology and activity characteristics of nitrogen efficient utilization genotype rice. Scientia Agricultura Sinica45, 4770–4781. (in Chinese)

Ju X T, Gu B J. 2014. Current situation, problems and trends of nitrogen fertiliser application on farmland in China. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizers20, 783–795. (in Chinese)

Kramer-Walter K R, Bellingham P J, Millar T R, Smissen R D, Richardson S J, Laughlin D C. 2016. Root traits are multidimensional: Specific root length is independent from root tissue density and the plant economic spectrum. Journal of Ecology104, 1299–1310.

Li H N, Xu H G, Ren Y H, Ding N, Jiang Y M. 2015. Effects of different nitrogen application levels on growth, nitrogen utilization and endogenous hormone content of dwarf Fu-ji apple saplings. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer21, 1304–1311. (in Chinese)

Li N, Yang Z Y, Dai Z, Sun Y J, Xu H, He Y, Yan T R, Jiang M J, Guo C C, Wang C Y, Ma J. 2017. Relationship between root morphology, nitrogen uptake and utilization and yield of rice with different nitrogen efficiency. Scientia Agricultura Sinica50, 2683–2695. (in Chinese)

Liu K, Chen Y, Li S Y, Wang W L, Zhang W Y, Zhang H. 2023. Differing responses of root morphology and physiology to nitrogen application rates and their relationships with grain yield in rice. The Crop Journal11, 618–627.

Liu K, Li T T, Chen Y, Huang J, Qiu Y Y, Li S Y, Wang H, Zhu A, Zhou X X, Yu F, Zhang H, Gu J F, Liu L J, Yang J C. 2020. Effects of root morphology and physiology on the formation and regulation of large panicles in rice. Field Crops Research258, 107–946.

Milla R, Osborne C P, Turcotte M M, Violle C. 2015. Plant domestication through an ecological lens. Trends in Ecology & Evolution30, 463–469.

Mofijul Islam S M, Gaihre Y K, Biswas J C, Jahan M S, Singh U, Adhikary S K, Satter M A, Saleque M A. 2018. Different nitrogen rates and methods of application for dry season rice cultivation with alternate wetting and drying irrigation: Fate of nitrogen and grain yield. Agricultural Water Management196, 144–153.

National Bureau of Statistics of China. 2022. China Statistical Yearbook. https://www.stats.gov.cn/gk/ (in Chinese)

Pandey V, Shukla A. 2015. Acclimation and tolerance strategies of rice under drought stress. Rice Science22, 147–161.

Roucou A, Violle C, Fort F, Roumet P, Ecarnot M, Vile D. 2018. Shifts in plant functional strategies over the course of wheat domestication. Journal of Applied Ecology55, 25–37.

Takei K, Takahashi T, Sugiyama T, Yamaya T, Sakakibara H. 2002. Multiple routes communicating nitrogen availability from roots to shoots: A signal transduction pathway mediated by cytokinin. Journal of Experimental Botany53, 971–977.

Talla S K, Panigrahy M, Kappara S, Nirosha P, Neelamraju S, Ramanan R. 2016. Cytokinin delays dark-induced senescence in rice by maintaining the chlorophyll cycle and photosynthetic complexes. Journal of Experimental Botany67, 1839–1851.

Walch-Liu P, Ivanov I, Filleur S Y, Gan Y, Remans T, Forde B G. 2006. Nitrogen regulation of root branching. Annals of Botany97, 875–881.

Wang X X, Li H B, Chu Q, Feng G, Kuyper T W, Rengel Z. 2020. Mycorrhizal impacts on root trait plasticity of six maize cultivars along a phosphorus supply gradient. Plant and Soil448, 71–86.

Wen Z H, Li H B, Shen Q, Tang X M, Xiong C Y, Li H G, Pang J Y, Ryan M H, Lambers H, Shen J B. 2019. Tradeoffs among root morphology, exudation and mycorrhizal symbioses for phosphorus-acquisition strategies of 16 crop species. New Phytologist223, 882–895.

Wen Z H, Pang J Y, Tueux G, Liu Y F, Shen J B, Ryan M H, Lambers H, Siddique K H M. 2020. Contrasting patterns in biomass allocation, root morphology and mycorrhizal symbiosis for phosphorus acquisition among 20 chickpea genotypes with different amounts of rhizosheath carboxylates. Functional Ecology34, 1311–1324.

Xu G, Jiang M M, Lu D K, Wang H Z, Chen M C. 2020. Nitrogen forms affect the root characteristic, photosynthesis, grain yield, and nitrogen use efficiency of rice under different irrigation regimes. Crop Science60, 2594–2610.

Xu G W, Lu D K, Wang H Z. 2017. Coupling effect of wetting and drying alternative irrigation and nitrogen application rate on photosynthetic characteristics of rice leaves. Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer Science23, 1225–1237. (in Chinese)

Xu G W, Lu D K, Wang H Z, Li Y J. 2018. Morphological and physiological traits of rice roots and their relationships to yield and nitrogen utilization as influenced by irrigation regime and nitrogen rate. Agriculture Water Manage203, 385–394.

Yang J C, Zhang H, Zhang J H. 2012. Root morphology and physiology in relation to the yield formation of rice. Journal of Integrative Agriculture11, 920–926.

Yang J C, Zhou Q, Zhang J H. 2017. Moderate wetting and drying increases rice yield and reduces water use, grain arsenic level, and methane emission. The Crop Journal5, 151–158.

Zhang S W, He Q L, Wang H Y, Jiang M J, Li Y H, Sun Y J, Guo X, Ma J. 2018. Effects of nitrogen application rates on nitrogen use efficiency and grain yield of indica hybrid rice F You498 under controlled intermittent irrigation. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizers24, 82–94. (in Chinese)

Zhang W Y, Yu J X, Xu Y J, Wang Z Q, Liu L J, Zhang H, Gu J F, Zhang J H, Yang J C. 2021. Alternate wetting and drying irrigation combined with the proportion of polymer-coated urea and conventional urea rates increases grain yield, water and nitrogen use efficiencies in rice. Field Crops Research265, 108–165.

Zhang Y J, Xu J N, Cheng Y D, Wang C, Liu G S, Yang J C. 2020. The effects of water and nitrogenon the roots and yield of upland and paddy rice. Journal of Integrative Agriculture19, 1363–1374.

Zhou Y F, Wang D Q, Lu Z B, Wang N, Wang Y T, Li F X, Xu W J, Huang R D. 2014. Effects of drought stress on photosynthetic characteristics and endogenous hormone ABA and CTK contents in green-stayed sorghum. Scientia Agricultura Sinica, 47, 655–663. (in Chinese)

Zörb C, Ludewig U, Hawkesford M J. 2018. Perspective on wheat yield and quality with reduced nitrogen supply. Trends in Plant Science23, 1029–1037.

[1] Jia Wu, Luqi Zhang, Ziyi Wang, Fan Ge, Hao Zhang, Jianchang Yang, Yajie Zhang. Reasonable dry cultivation methods can balance the yield and grain quality of rice[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(3): 1030-1043.
[2] Yongshui Hao, Xueying Liu, Qianqian Wang, Shuxin Wang, Qingqing Li, Yaqing Wang, Zhongni Guo, Tiantian Wu, Qing Yang, Yuting Bai, Yuru Cui, Peng Yang, Wenwen Wang, Zhonghua Teng, Dexin Liu, Kai Guo, Dajun Liu, Jian Zhang, Zhengsheng Zhang. Mapping QTLs for fiber- and seed-related traits in Gossypium tomentosum CSSLs with a G. hirsutum background [J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(2): 467-479.
[3] Zijuan Ding, Ren Hu, Yuxian Cao, Jintao Li, Dakang Xiao, Jun Hou, Xuexia Wang. Integrated assessment of yield, nitrogen use efficiency and ecosystem economic benefits of use of controlled-release and common urea in ratoon rice production[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2024, 23(9): 3186-3199.
[4] Ningning Yu, Bingshuo Wang, Baizhao Ren, Bin Zhao, Peng Liu, Jiwang Zhang. Water and nitrogen footprint assessment of integrated agronomic practice management in a summer maize cropping system[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2024, 23(10): 3610-3621.
[5] Yeison M QUEVEDO, Liz P MORENO, Eduardo BARRAGÁN. Predictive models of drought tolerance indices based on physiological, morphological and biochemical markers for the selection of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) varieties[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2022, 21(5): 1310-1320.
[6] ZHU Kuan-yu, YAN Jia-qian, SHEN Yong, ZHANG Wei-yang, XU Yun-ji, WANG Zhi-qin, YANG Jian-chang. Deciphering the morpho–physiological traits for high yield potential in nitrogen efficient varieties (NEVs): A japonica rice case study[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2022, 21(4): 947-963.
[7] ZHU Ling-xiao, LIU Lian-tao, SUN Hong-chun, ZHANG Yong-jiang, ZHANG Ke, BAI Zhi-ying, LI An-chang, DONG He-zhong, LI Cun-dong . Effects of chemical topping on cotton development, yield and quality in the Yellow River Valley of China[J]. >Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2022, 21(1): 78-90.
No Suggested Reading articles found!