ISSN:
1573-5036
Keywords:
Nutrient distribution
;
Phosphorus
;
Tropical legumes
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
Notes:
Summary Changes in absolute contents of nutrient elements of old leaves of two tropical pasture legumes were studied during vegetative growth in order to determine the extent of nutrient reutilization. Over a wide range of P supply, the P contents of old leaves ofDesmodium intortum cv. Greenleaf generally increased slightly with time whereas inMacroptilium atropurpureum cv. Siratro they decreased. In both species, relatively less K than P was retained in old leaves, especially in plants grown at high P supply. In desmodium, contents of N, S, Ca, Mg, B, Zn and Mn in old leaves generally increased with plant age. In Siratro, S content of old leaves decreased, but to a lesser extent than P content, and contents of N, Ca, Mg, B, Zn and Mn either changed little or increased with plant age. The lower net loss of elements from old leaves of desmodium than Siratro was associated with a greater increase over time in dry weight of old desmodium leaves. The losses of elements other than K from old leaves of Siratro and desmodium with time were relatively smaller than those reported for other species. This suggests that these legumes survive restricted supply of such elements from the roots by reducing their growth rather than by reutilizing nutrients in old leaves. By contrast, these plants can continue to grow when K supply from the roots slows or ceases by utilizing K in old tissues for growth of young tissues.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02232887
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