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Maize seedling phosphorus nutrition: Allocation of remobilized seed phosphorus reserves and external phosphorus uptake to seedling roots and shoots during early growth stages

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Abstract

Background and aims

The growth of green plants depends not only on photosynthesis, but also on the successful remobilization and translocation of seed phosphorus (P) reserves to the vegetative parts of the developing seedling during early growth. Remobilization and photosynthesis are therefore two parallel and co-coinciding processes involved in better seedling establishment and early growth.

Methods

A study was conducted to evaluate the priority of developing maize seedlings to translocate the remobilized seed P reserves and external P uptake to seedling root and shoot sinks during 4 weeks of early growth. Two fluxes of P in growing seedlings, one from seed remobilized P reserves and one from external P uptake, were distinguished by labelling external nutrient solution P with 32P.

Results

The seedling phytomass was equally distributed between seedling roots and shoots for 530 cumulated degree days after sowing. Seedlings partitioned up to 71 % of P from seed reserves and up to 68 % of P acquired from the nutrient solution, to the shoots, depending on the seed P content and P concentration in the nutrient solution. It appears that accumulation of P slows down in seedling roots corresponds to the translocative functions of root P towards shoots for start of photosynthesis.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that the major part of seed P reserves and external P uptake were used in early development of the seedling and the preferred sink was seedling shoots.

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Abbreviations

LS seeds:

Seeds with low seed P reserves

HS seeds:

Seeds with high seed P reserves

LS seedlings:

Seedling grown from LS seeds

HS seedlings:

Seedlings grown from HS seeds

0P:

Zero external P availability

LP:

Low external P availability

HP:

High external P availability

°C DAS:

Cumulated degree days after sowing

LPLS:

Seedlings grown from LS seeds in low external P availability

HPLS:

Seedlings grown from LS seeds in high external P availability

LPHS:

Seedlings grown from HS seeds in low external P availability

HPHS:

Seedlings grown from HS seeds in high external P availability

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by a project grant by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan and benefited from financial support from INRA (French National Institute for Agricultural Research). The authors acknowledge technical help and advice from Alain Vives, Loïc Prud’homme, Sylvie Milin and Sylvie Bussiere. We also thank Daphne Goodfellow for revising the English. Thanks are also due to two referees their useful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRA, UMR 1220 TCEM, 71 avenue Bourlaux, CS 20032, 33882, Villenave d’Ornon Cedex, France

    Muhammad Nadeem, Alain Mollier, Christian Morel & Sylvain Pellerin

  2. Bordeaux Sciences Agro, UMR 1220 TCEM, 33175, Gradignan, France

    Muhammad Nadeem, Alain Mollier, Christian Morel & Sylvain Pellerin

  3. Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Vehari, 61100, Pakistan

    Muhammad Nadeem, Muhammad Shahid & Muhammad Aslam

  4. Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan

    Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman

  5. Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan

    Muhammad Ashfaq Wahid

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  1. Muhammad Nadeem
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  2. Alain Mollier
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  3. Christian Morel
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  4. Muhammad Shahid
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  5. Muhammad Aslam
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  6. Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman
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  7. Muhammad Ashfaq Wahid
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  8. Sylvain Pellerin
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Correspondence to Muhammad Nadeem.

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Responsible Editor: Philip John White.

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Nadeem, M., Mollier, A., Morel, C. et al. Maize seedling phosphorus nutrition: Allocation of remobilized seed phosphorus reserves and external phosphorus uptake to seedling roots and shoots during early growth stages. Plant Soil 371, 327–338 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-013-1689-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-013-1689-x

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