biologia plantarum

Biologia plantarum 20:248-255, 1978 | DOI: 10.1007/BF02922679

Mathematical description of nitrogen and phosphorus accumulation in developing barley kernels

L. Nátr¹, P. Apel², Ivaka Kousalová¹

¹ Cereal Research Institute, Kroměříž, Czechoslovakia

² Zentralinstitut für Genetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung, Gatersleben, DDR

The changes of kernel nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and dry weight (DW) were determined during the time period from 10 days after anthesis till maturity in three spring barley strains. The plants were cultivated under field conditions in Gatersleben (German D.R.) and Kroměříž (Czechoslovakia). The course of N, P and DW changes was described by Richard's comprehensive growth function dW/dt = aW^m + bW, where W is the amount of N, P or dry matter per kernel, a, b, m are coefficients. The integral of this function was used and several parameters calculated. There was a remarkable synchrony between N or P and total dry matter accumulation in the kernels. Thus, the N or P concentration per unit kernel dry weight was relatively constant during the investigated period and with few exceptions corresponded to 80% to 100% of the final value. However, considerable differences between strains, years or places of cultivation were found.

Received: October 11, 1976; Accepted: December 15, 1977; Published: July 1, 1978  Show citation