Effects of nitrogen supply on growth and nitrogen uptake by Miscanthus sinensis during establishment

Abstract

AbstractThe effect of nitrogen (N) supply on growth and N uptake of Miscanthus sinensis during the establishment was determined. Seven different N addition regimes were compared in a nutrient solution experiment. In the treatments N111 (severe deficient), N222 (moderate deficient), N333 and N444 (optimal for maximum growth) different N concentration ranges were held constant during the entire growing season. In the treatments N144, N414 and N441 plants were subjected to low (1) N concentration in one of three experimental periods, whereas the N concentration was high (4) in the other two periods. Depending on the N demand of the plants, N concentrations were adjusted to 250–500 μM (N1), 500–1000 μM (N2), 1250–2500 μM (N3) and 2500–5000 μM (N4) when the N concentration in the N222 treatment had dropped below 100 μM. The other elements in the solution were replenished according to the estimated element ratios in the plants. As a reference the potassium concentration in the solution was measured regularly.During the first year plants with a non‐limited N supply (N444) produced new tillers and increased the length of individual tillers until the end of the growing season. This resulted in a 48% shoot dry matter increase late in the growing season between August and October and a linear increase of cumulative N uptake between July and October. Limited N supply during the entire growing season (N111, N222) caused lower shoot yields but rhizome and particularly root dry weights were less affected. Significant final yield losses were also observed when the N supply was limited only during the first 7 weeks of growth (N144). By contrast, final shoot yield was hardly affected when the plants were exposed to limited N supply over a period of 9 weeks at the end of the growing season (N441). In the second year regrowth of shoots in spring was affected by the previous year's N supply, since five weeks after the beginning of regrowth, shoot dry matter was significantly positively correlated with N contents in rhizomes and shoots in the previous October. Our results show, that N supply at the beginning of the growing season has a major effect on final yield in the first establishment year of M. sinensis. However, from the second year on, the capacity of N reserves in rhizomes and roots affects spring growth much more than current N supply.