Carbon and nitrogen nutrition of nodulated roots of grain legumes

Abstract

Abstract The spatial and temporal relationships between carbon (C) metabolism and nitrogen (N) nutrition in grain legumes are of great academic interest with the added bonus that any data for economically important species may ultimately prove useful to breeders and growers. So far there are no data which can be used to relate differences in carbon usage by any symbiotic association with differences in economic yield. Much research has focussed on the dependence of dinitrogen fixation on photosynthate supply, on the C–N relationships of nodulated roots and nodules and on diurnal and seasonal profiles of dinitrogen fixation. In all these aspects a plethora of responses have been described, often based on insufficiently proven measurement techniques; consequently unequivocal conclusions cannot be drawn. We know little about within‐species differences due to cultivar, strain of Rhi‐zobium or environment, or about the proportions of any heritable variations which might be sufficiently large to merit inclusion among the selection criteria of grain legume breeders.