No tillage affects the phosphorus status, isotopic composition and crop yield of Phaseolus vulgaris in a rain-fed farming system

• Published in: Journal of the science of food and agriculture 2011-01, Vol.91 (2), p.268-272
• Main Authors: Alguacil, María del Mar, Roldán, Antonio, Salinas-García, Jaime R, Querejeta, José Ignacio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agriculture - methods; Beans; Biological and medical sciences; Biomass; Carbon - metabolism; Conservation of Natural Resources; Crop science; Crops, Agricultural - microbiology; Crops, Agricultural - physiology; Food industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Isotopes - metabolism; Mexico; Mycorrhizae; Nitrogen - metabolism; Nitrogen Fixation; no tillage; Oxygen - metabolism; Phaseolus - microbiology; Phaseolus - physiology; Phaseolus vulgaris; Phosphorus; Phosphorus - metabolism; Photosynthesis; Plant Structures - metabolism; Plant Structures - microbiology; Rain; rain-fed farming system; Soil Microbiology; Soil sciences; Tillage; Water - physiology; δ13C; δ15N; δ18O
• ISSN: 0022-5142; 1097-0010; 1097-0010
• DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.4180

BACKGROUND: Conservation tillage promotes the accretion of soil organic matter and often leads to improved soil fertility and moisture availability. However, few studies have looked at the physiological response of crop plants to different tillage practices. It was therefore hypothesised that measuring the nutrient concentrations and stable isotope composition (δ13C, δ18O, δ15N) of shoots could help evaluate the physiological response of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) to different tillage treatments (no tillage (NT) and mouldboard ploughing (MP)) in a rain‐fed farming system in northern Mexico. RESULTS: NT significantly enhanced shoot phosphorus concentration in bean plants. Tillage exerted a negative effect on the extent of root colonisation (%) by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Lower shoot δ18O but unchanged δ13C values in plants from the NT system suggest enhanced stomatal conductance but also enhanced photosynthetic rate, which overall resulted in unchanged water use efficiency. Bean plants in the NT system showed lower shoot δ15N values, which suggests that a larger proportion of total plant nitrogen was obtained through atmospheric nitrogen fixation in this treatment. CONCLUSION: Greater diversity of AMF soil communities and heavier colonisation of roots by AMF in the NT compared with the MP system appeared to contribute to improved crop nutrition, water relations and yield in this rain‐fed agroecosystem. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry