Variation in seedling growth of 11 perennial legumes in response to phosphorus supply

Abstract

Phosphorus (P) deficiency is a major problem for Australian agriculture. Development of new perennial pasture legumes that acquire or use P more efficiently than the current major perennial pasture legume, lucerne (Medicago sativa L.), is urgent. A glasshouse experiment compared the response of ten perennial herbaceous legume species to a series of P supplies ranging from 0 to 384 µg g −1 soil, with lucerne as the control. Under low-P conditions, several legumes produced more biomass than lucerne. Four species (Lotononis bainesii Baker, Kennedia prorepens F.Muell, K. prostrata R.Br, Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) C.H.Stirt) achieved maximum growth at 12 µg P g −1 soil, while other species required 24 µg P g −1 . In most tested legumes, biomass production was reduced when P supply was ≥192 µg g −1 , due to P toxicity, while L. bainesii and K. prorepens showed reduced biomass when P was ≥24 µg g −1 and K. prostrata at ≥48 µg P g −1 soil. B. bituminosa and Glycine canescens F.J.Herm required less soil P to achieve 0.5 g dry mass than the other species did. Lucerne performed poorly with low P supply and our results suggest that some novel perennial legumes may perform better on low-P soils.

How Soil Nutrient Availability Influences Plant Biomass and How Biomass Stimulation Alleviates Heavy Metal Toxicity in Soils: The Cases of Nutrient Use Efficient Genotypes and Phytoremediators, Respectively

“…Phosphorus deficiency caused reduced biomass, photosynthetic activity and nitrogen fixing ability in mungbean (Vigna aconitifolia) and mashbean (Vigna radiata) [33]. Under P deficiency conditions, genotypic variation in biomass production is evident; according to Pang et al (2010) [34], who studied in a glasshouse experiment the response of ten perennial herbaceous legume species, found that under low P conditions several legumes produced more biomass than lucerne. Nutrient deficiency may cause physiological and metabolism abnormalities in plants, which may lead to deficiency symptoms.…”

Phosphorus response and efficiency of four adventive annual clovers grown in a New Zealand high country soil under glasshouse conditions

“…The ability to acquire P from the soil and use it efficiently for biomass production is an important characteristic for adaptation to soils low in available P (Pang et al 2010). In general, at lowmedium P levels, T. subterraneum was the most efficient species in utilizing applied P for biomass production (P required g…”

Duplicate and Conquer: Multiple Homologs ofPHOSPHORUS-STARVATION TOLERANCE1Enhance Phosphorus Acquisition and Sorghum Performance on Low-Phosphorus Soils

“…One of the major mechanisms that plants have evolved to overcome low-P availability is to maximize the ability of the roots to acquire and absorb P from the soil. Plants can mobilize P through the exudation of organic acids, acid phosphatases, and ribonucleases, resulting in enhanced P availability and uptake (Hinsinger, 2001;Ryan et al, 2001;Dakora and Phillips, 2002;Hammond and White, 2008;Ma et al, 2009;Pang et al, 2009). Another strategy to cope with low-P availability is to increase the soil volume accessed by root systems by forming mycorrhizal symbioses Smith and Smith, 2012;Rai et al, 2013).…”