Nutrient Use Efficiency in Plants: An Overview

Abstract

In modern agriculture use of essential plant nutrients in crop production is very important to increase productivity and maintain sustainability of the cropping system. Use of nutrients in crop production is influenced by climatic, soil, plant, and social-economical condition of the farmers. Overall, nutrient use efficiency by crop plants is lower than 50 % under all agroecological conditions. Hence, large part of the applied nutrients is lost in the soil-plant system. The lower nutrient use efficiency is related to loss and/or unavailability due to many environmental factors. The low nutrient use efficiency is not only increase cost of crop production but also responsible for environmental pollution. Nutrient use efficiency in the literature is defined in several ways. The most common nutrient use efficiency is designated as nutrient efficiency ratio, agronomic efficiency, physiological efficiency, agrophysiological efficiency, apparent recovery efficiency, and utilization efficiency. Definition and methods of calculation of these deficiencies are presented. Improving nutrient use efficiency is essential from economic and environmental point of view. The most important strategies to improve nutrient use efficiency are the use of adequate rate, effective source, timing, and methods of application. In addition, decreasing abiotic and biotic stresses and use of nutrient efficient crop species and genotypes within species are also important in increasing nutrient use efficiency. IntroductionWorld agriculture is faced with serious challenge of feeding adequate and healthy food for over 7 billion (B) people and by 2050 world population expected to reach over 9 B (FAO 2013).

Genetic Gain Over 30 Years of Spring Wheat Breeding in Brazil

“…The extraction and utilization capacity of the nutrients supplied to the plants is measured in relation to the nutrient use efficiency (Baligar and Fageria, 2015). Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) results for modern Brazilian wheat cultivars show that they use N more efficiently and are more tolerant of lower N rates than older cultivars.…”

Controlled-Release Fertilizer with Lignin Used to Trap Urea/Hydroxymethylurea/ Urea-Formaldehyde Polymers

“…These fertilizers contain three elements, i.e., nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. Urea (CO(NH2)2) is an important nitrogen fertilizer and a major source of plant nutrition (Baligar and Fageria 2015). Unfortunately, the practical use of conventional urea is not efficient due to its high water solubility.…”

Phosphorus Efficiency in Brazilian Soybean Cultivars

“…There is little benefit to a plant that is very efficient in P uptake if the yield (fruits, vegetative part or roots) is low. Phosphorus use efficiency in plants can be achieved via several ways [13][14][15][16]. From a physiological perspective, Rose et al [17] state that plants with greater P use efficiency operate with lower shoot P concentration.…”