Natural and Non-Conventional Sources of Nitrogen for Plants

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil and Plant Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 March 2025) | Viewed by 2502

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Siedlce, 08110 Siedlce, Poland
Interests: organic waste; composts and vermicomposts; agricultural utilization of mushroom substrates; soil conditioners; cultivation of fodder grasses; sustainable fertilization

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Siedlce, 08110 Siedlce, Poland
Interests: sources of nutrients for plants; nitrogen fixation process; transformation of nitrogen fixed by legumes; nitrogen biogeochemistry; waste substances in agriculture; shaping the properties of soils and plants under the influence of fertilization; fertilizer management

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Guest Editor
Institute of Industrial and Forage Crops, Hellenic Agricultural Organization—"Demeter", 41335 Larissa, Greece
Interests: soil fertility; plant nutrition; improved nitrogen (N) use efficiency; crop nutrient management; soil-plant relations; plant nutritional physiology; soil quality; crop production; root morphological traits in relation to crop nutrition
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to send original scientific papers and review manuscripts containing research on the possibility of supplying plants with nitrogen from natural and unconventional sources. Nitrogen is a nutrient for plants that significantly affects the quantity and quality of harvested biomass. Agricultural systems based mainly on the supply of nitrogen from chemical fertilizers are highly productive but may significantly affect environmental pollution. The negative impact on the environment begins at the stage of production of these fertilizers. The rational use of chemical fertilizers combined with the use of natural and unconventional nitrogen sources can reduce this negative impact. We would like to pay particular attention to research on the possibility of the greater use of the process of molecular nitrogen fixation by symbiotic and free-living microorganisms, as well as on the use of nitrogen resources found in various organic or mineral-organic fertilizers and wastes. Moreover, improving the availability of nitrogen and limiting its dispersion in the environment can be achieved by using soil conditioners as innovative products used in the cultivation of horticultural, ornamental, nursery, and agricultural plants on arable land and grasslands.

This Special Issue of Agronomy endeavors to collect new achievements by researchers in the following areas:

  • The fixation of molecular nitrogen by symbiotic microorganisms and the availability of this nitrogen pool for legumes;
  • The fixation of molecular nitrogen by symbiotic microorganisms in intercropping system legumes and non-legume plants, as well as determining the availability of nitrogen from this source for both plants;
  • The availability of nitrogen biologically fixed in symbiotic systems and remaining in the soil in the form of crop residues or green manures for subsequent plants;
  • Increasing soil abundance and nitrogen availability for plants as a result of increasing the efficiency of the N2 fixation process by free-living microorganisms;
  • The use of organic and mineral–organic fertilizers and waste materials as sources of nitrogen for plants, as well as improving the NUE value;

Improving the availability of nutrients for plants and increasing tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses as a result of the application of soil conditioners. 

Prof. Dr. Beata Wiśniewska-Kadżajan
Prof. Dr. Andrzej Wysokiński
Dr. Christos Noulas
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • nitrogen
  • nitrogen fixation
  • symbiotic microorganisms
  • free-leaving microorganisms
  • organic fertilizers
  • organic wastes
  • soil conditioners
  • nitrogen use efficiency
  • legumes
  • grasses
  • horticultural plants

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 958 KiB  
Article
Optimal Nitrogen Fertilizer Rates for Soybean Cultivation
by Andrzej Wysokinski, Aleksandra Wysokińska, Christos Noulas and Anna Wysokińska
Agronomy 2024, 14(7), 1375; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14071375 - 26 Jun 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1903
Abstract
The soybean (Glycine max. L. Merr) can satisfy a large portion of its requirement for nitrogen (N) by living in symbiosis with symbiotic bacteria. However, this source of N may be inadequate in varieties with high yield potential. To fully exploit this [...] Read more.
The soybean (Glycine max. L. Merr) can satisfy a large portion of its requirement for nitrogen (N) by living in symbiosis with symbiotic bacteria. However, this source of N may be inadequate in varieties with high yield potential. To fully exploit this potential, soybeans should additionally utilize mineral forms of nitrogen present in the soil. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of varied nitrogen fertilizer application rates on the dry weight of the separated parts of soybean plants and the whole plant, including the number and weight of root nodules, the potential to reduce atmospheric nitrogen (N2), and the content and uptake of nitrogen. Four levels of pre-sowing nitrogen fertilizer supply were tested: 0, 60, 120, and 180 kg N·ha−1. Measurements of the tested parameters were taken during the flowering stage and the fully ripe stage. During the flowering stage, a reduction in the number of root nodules was observed following the application of 120 and 180 kg N·ha−1. In the fully ripe stage, each increase in nitrogen application caused a systematic decrease in the number of nodules on the roots. Increasing the level of nitrogen application therefore reduced the N2 fixation potential of soybeans, regardless of the developmental stage. The use of high doses of nitrogen in soybean cultivation did not increase seed yield or the weight of the entire plant. With high doses of nitrogen, the content and accumulation of nitrogen in soybean seeds and total mass did not increase. Therefore, the content and yield of crude protein did not increase. The main organ of nitrogen accumulation in the soybean flowering stage was the leaves (58.6–64.8% of total N uptake), however, in the fully ripe stage, it was the seeds (66.8–74.2% of total N uptake). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural and Non-Conventional Sources of Nitrogen for Plants)
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