Nitrogen ionome dynamics on leafy vegetables in tropical climate

Abstract

Nitrogen is known to be a critical macro-nutrient influencing plant physiology, growth, and mineral composition. In tropical conditions, which are challenging for leafy vegetable farming, the nitrogen delivery effect is unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of nitrogen application on key physiological traits and the mineral composition of the plants, the plant ionome. Experiments were conducted under tropical conditions greenhouse with varying levels of nitrogen supply to examine the effect on plant transpiration, yield, use efficiency of water and nitrogen, and nutrient uptake dynamics followed by cross-correlation analysis, trying to understand the physiological behavior-uptake dynamics relationships. The results demonstrated that transpiration, yield and WUE theoretic optimum curve, which peaking in nitrogen concentration of 120 mg/L for Chinese spinach and 200 mg/L for Chinese broccoli. Conversely, NUE reduce significantly with increasing nitrogen delivery which reflected on antagonistic increase of excess nitrogen. In terms of mineral composition, nitrogen application resulted in an increase I nitrogen content in the plant leaf tissue, while concentration of certain macronutrients and micronutrients were affected, including potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, and molybdenum. Part of the minerals exhibited decreasing pattern due to potential competitive uptake mechanism, iron revealed increasing pattern that correlated with nitrogen delivery, and some minerals correlated with the measured physiological parameters. These results underscore the importance of optimizing nitrogen fertilization to balance plant growth, physiological processes, and plant nutrient homeostasis. The study offers valuable insights for sustainable nitrogen management in agricultural systems aimed at maximizing crop yield while maintaining nutritional quality.