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Abstract: (29072 Views)
Modeling plant response to salinity and nitrogen deficiency is very important for estimating optimum yield in arid and semi-arid regions. For this purpose, the models of Leibig-Sprengel (LS) and Mitscherlich-Baule (MB) originally proposed to explain plant response to nutrients only were modified to evaluate plant yield response to combined nitrogen and salinity stress conditions. Afterwards, in order to model canola (Brassica napus L.) response to combined salinity and nitrogen stress, an experiment was designed with different nitrogen and salinity levels. The water salinity treatments consisted of non-saline water, 3, 6, 9 and 12 dS m-1. The nitrogen treatments were 0, 75, 150 and 300 mg kg soil-1 added as ammonium nitrate. The results indicated that both modified models can satisfactorily predict canola yield. However, the modified MB model (R2=0.94) provided better estimation than the modified LS model (R2=0.87). The calculated statistics including Maximum Error, Root Mean Square Error, Modeling Efficiency, Coefficient of Determination and Coefficient of Residual Mass for the modified models indicated that the estimated relative grain yield for soil nitrogen, salinity and each rate of soil nitrogen in salinity levels by modified MB model compared with those by modified LS model is closer to the measured relative yield. Therefore, the use of modified MB model for estimating canola relative grain yield in salinity and nitrogen stresses is recommended. Using modified LS model showed that the salinity threshold value changes with the applied nitrogen. In this case, by application of each 75 mgN kg-1 soil, the salinity threshold value decreased 4 dS m-1 in saline conditions. Application of nitrogen decreased chloride concentration in grains under saline conditions. Nitrogen uptake also augmented with increasing canola transpiration, because nitrogen was carried over from soil to the uptake sites mainly by mass flow.
Type of Study:
Research |
Subject:
Ggeneral Received: 2010/06/19 | Published: 2009/01/15