How to translate text using browser tools
24 November 2020 Growing medium soluble carbon and nitrogen influence xylem sap and soluble solid contents in greenhouse cucumber fruits
Pierre-Paul Dion, Sandra Jämtgård, Annick Bertrand, Mireille Thériault, Steeve Pepin, Martine Dorais
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Compelling evidence recently demonstrated that plants can take up nitrogen (N) as organic molecules. Yet, very little research addressed this issue in the context of organic horticulture, where N is provided as organic residues. Organic N and carbon (C) transported from roots to shoots could contribute significantly to the plant C and N accumulation. We posited that the type (organic or mineral) and amount of N fertilization affect the soluble organic N and C content of the growing medium, in turn influencing xylem sap N and C and fruit soluble solids content (SSC). To test this hypothesis, we collected growing medium, xylem sap, and fruit samples in a greenhouse cucumber crop grown in a peat-based growing medium and fertilized with organic (blood and feather meals) or mineral (ammonium nitrate) N fertilizers. The organic N source reduced growing medium concentrations of soluble mineral and organic N relative to the mineral source through microbial immobilization. Xylem sap C and N were positively linked to the soluble C and N contents of the growing medium, contributing to higher fruit SSC. A causal model is proposed, in which 62.6% of the variance observed in fruit SSC is explained by variation in mineral soluble N and soluble organic C in the growing medium and dissolved organic C and amino acids in xylem sap. Our results provide in situ indications that organic molecules in the growing medium are taken up by cucumber plants and contribute to fruit soluble solids in a context relevant to greenhouse horticulture.

Copyright remains with the authors Dion, Jämtgård, Pepin, and Dorais and © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada as represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, 2020. Permission for reuse (free in most cases) can be obtained from copyright.com.
Pierre-Paul Dion, Sandra Jämtgård, Annick Bertrand, Mireille Thériault, Steeve Pepin, and Martine Dorais "Growing medium soluble carbon and nitrogen influence xylem sap and soluble solid contents in greenhouse cucumber fruits," Canadian Journal of Plant Science 101(3), 366-376, (24 November 2020). https://doi.org/10.1139/cjps-2020-0097
Received: 20 April 2020; Accepted: 31 October 2020; Published: 24 November 2020
JOURNAL ARTICLE
11 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
microbial biomass
nitrogen uptake
organic fertilization
soluble solids
xylem sap
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top