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Chairman
DR. R. SANKAR
Presented by
S. DHARUMARAJAN 04-617-013
Isotopes
Isotopes are different forms of an atom of the same chemical element. They have identical chemical properties but a different relative atomic mass. While the number of protons is the same, the number of neutrons in the nucleus differs Radioactive nature of unstable isotopes, usually referred to as 'radioisotopes
Radioisotopes in agriculture
With the help of radioisotopes, we can easily locate the presence of a single atom and molecule and their movement. Hence, they give research workers the opportunity to follow up step by step all kinds of processes that are related to the nutrition of plant from germination to maturity. Very small quantities of labelled nutrients can be accurately measured in presence of large quantities of other nutrients. The location of materials can be identified by radio- autography. ( method of determine the distribution of radioactive material ) Tracer technique enables one in tracing those elements taken by the plants accurately and precisely. Interaction among the mineral nutrients.
Phosphorus isotopes
The chemical element phosphorus has one stable isotope (31P) and several radioisotopes (from 26P to 30P and from 32P to 38P). but only two of them (32P and 33P) are suitable for agronomic studies. Beta energy emitted by 32P is high compared to 33P The lower energy emitted by 33P presents less radiation hazard, and its longer half-life (24.4 days) allows studies to be conducted for relatively longer time periods.
Contd.,
The 32P can be easily monitored because of its high beta energy and its use is limited to P uptake studies with duration of 60 upto 90 days due to its short half-life (14.3 days).
The availability of these two isotopes also makes it possible to use double labeling techniques in root activity studies and P placement experiments
33P
Isotopes Half-life
Typical applications
Exchangeable
32P
14.3 days
1.71 MeV(Emax)
P in soils P availability from P fertilizers Plant root distribution / activity Residual P fertilizer availability
33P
24.4 days
0.248 MeV(Emax)
Auto-radiography
Diffusion
The unstable nucleus of a radioactive isotope has an excess energy To achieve stability, it undergoes random rearrangement during which energy is released in the form of particles or radiations The radioactive nuclide has excess neutrons, which is usually the case with higher elements such as 32P The stability is achieved by the conversion of neutron into proton with in the nucleus and beta particle is emitted.
+ - + Energy
contd..,
In case of natural fertilizer sources, like phosphate rocks (PR) it is not possible to directly label these materials with P isotopes, because of the changes induced in their physical and chemical characteristics during labeling.
Therefore, techniques based on reverse isotopic dilution have been widely used to investigate P availability from Phosphate rock sources to plants
Radioactive tracer
A small quantity of radioisotope is used to follow a biological or chemical process.
Carrier
A quantity of stable isotopes of the element, which may be added to a radioactive isotope of that element to give a ponderable quantity to facilitate chemical operation.
Carrier free
A carrier free isotopes of an element are one in which all the atoms of the element present are radioactive.
Contd.,
Specific activity Pertaining to a radioactively sample, the amount of tracer activity (disintegrations per second) per unit amount of trace (mole)
Units of specific activity- Curie = 3.71010 disintegrating atoms per second SI unit: Becquerel 1 milli curie =37 MBq
Phosphorus in the plant derived from fertilizer (Pdff)= Specific activity of the P in the plant Specific activity of P in the fertilizer Total P in the plant derived from the fertilizer (K) Pdff total P in the plant
Percentage utilization of fertilizer of the applied fertilizer K100 Amount of applied fertilizer P
32P
isotopic techniques
Direct neutron irradiation of Phosphate rock materials Direct labeling of P fertilizer Methods based on Isotope dilution
This method is not adequate for evaluating Phosphate rock sources and it is not used anymore.
This direct method can be used to compare several P fertilizers that can be labelled during their manufacture. This includes superphosphate, ammonium phosphates and nitro phosphates (Fried, 1954).
The efficiency of P fertilizer management practices such as timing, placement, mixing of P sources, etc; can be also measured
A method of analysis in which a known amount of tracer is added carrier free or together with w known amount of trace (carrier) to a sample containing trace of natural isotopic combination
Depending upon the system and experimental conditions used for equilibration of the isotope tracer, these measures of availability have been designated as E (Exchangeable P), L (Labile P) and A (Available P) values (Russell et al., 1954; Larsen, 1967; Fried, 1964;). General equation S1 X = ---------- X S2 X
A, L or E
Where, S1 is the specific activity of the added tracer, X is the amount of added carrier, S2 is the specific activity of tracer in the equilibrium solution.
A-value technique
The "A" value represents a quantitative measure of the availability of a soil nutrient in terms of a standard fertilizer.
The basic assumption is that when two sources of a nutrient are present in the soil, the plant will absorb from each of these sources in proportion to the respective quantities available to the plant. The amount of available (A-value) nutrient in the soil can be determined in terms of a standard, provided that the proportion of the nutrient in the plants derived from this standard is determined. This is done by using an isotopically labelled fertilizer (standard), which will give a direct measurement of the proportion of the nutrient that was derived, from the standard fertilizer Fried and Dean (1952) A= B (1-y)/y Where, A is the amount of available nutrient in the soil, B is the amount of fertilizer nutrient (standard) applied, y is the proportion of nutrient in the plant derived from fertilizer nutrient (standard).
E- Value
This method is a direct application of the isotopic dilution principle and is an attempt to measure the amount of nutrient in the soil that is in equilibrium with the same nutrient in the soil solution when 32P added to a system containing 31P, the 32P will distribute itself such that equilibrium ratio of 32P to 31P (specific activity) will be constant for all the phosphate participating in the equilibrium
Reaction
Surface 31P + solution 32P =========> surface 32P= solution 31P
At equilibrium,
Surface 31P Surface 32 P = Solution 31P Solution 32P
(Russell et al., 1954).
L- value technique
The L-value is defined as the amount of labile P (in the soil and the soil solution) that is exchangeable with 32P labelled orthophosphate ions added to the soil, as measured by a plant growing in the equilibrated soil.
addition.
P- sources
Pdff (%)
P utilization (%)
Effect of applied P On % Pdff and % P utilization by green gram, Bengal gram, and cowpea
Dry matter yield (g/ Pot) GG 3.76 BG 3.38 C 7.15
S.No
Pdff (%) GG BG GG -
P utilization (%) GG BG C
30
14.6
11.2
16.9
7.4
5.0
22.2
4.40
3.84
8.72
60
25.2
17.6 24.6
8.0
4.9
20.5
5.07
4.22
9.43
90
32.4
24.1 26.9
7.4
5.1
16.7
5.03
4.42
9.81
Mean
24.1
17.6 22.8
7.6
5.0
19.8
4.56
3.97
8.78
Influence of silicates and organic amendments on dry matter yield and P uptake parameters
S.No Treatments
Dry matter yield (g/pot) 1 2 DAP DAP+ potassium silicate (100 kg/ ha) DAP+ calcium silicate (100 kg/ ha) DAP+ compost (15 tons/ha) DAP+ pressmud (15 tons/ha) SEm CD (5%) 4.50 5.80
Mustard
Total P uptake (mg/pot) 12.2 15.9 Pdff (%) P utiliza tion (%) 10.1 13.7 Dry matter yield (g/pot) 9.45 9.22
linseed
Total P uptake (mg/pot) 11.1 11.0 Pdff (%) P utiliz ation (%) 8.0 8.1
36.5 38.4
37.1 38.2
4.55
12.5
36.7
10.3
9.20
11.3
35.4
7.8
4 5
S.No
treatments 1982-83
1 2 3 4 5
SSP broadcast SSP placement Blended SSP broadcast Blended SSP placement SSP split application CD (at 5% level)
18.3 26.5
22.4
26.0 29.5 3.6
22.3
24.1 27.8 4.0 25.9 31.7 3.1
21.4
24.6 29.9 2.7
3.99
763
1045
84.4
99.7
12.6
17.0
4.33
674
931
94.3
105
11.2
17.1
4.69
457 on of 688
908
99.4
119
7.6
15.3
4.51
708
85.7
174
11.5
11.8
4.68
Table 2: Utilization of P from different sources by crop 1 and 2 of rye grass as affected by method of application (Xiong et al., 1996)
Treatment CROP 1 %Pdfssp SOIL 1 Control PR uniform placement SSP uniform placement SSP fraction placement SSP-PR placement SSP-PR fraction placement SOIL 2 Control PR uniform placement SSP uniform placement SSP fraction placement uniform 90.1 87.7 91.7 %Pdfpr 2.8 %Pdfsoil 100 100 12.3 8.3 9.9 81.4 85.5 81.7 %Pdfssp CROP 2 %Pdfpr %Pdfsoil 100 100 18.6 14.5 18.3
90.4
-
5.0 95.0
6.8
80.9
-
5.4
1.1
13.7
100 98.9
86.0
90.2
14.0
9.8
81.9
84.0
18.1
16.0
SSP-PR placement
SSP-PR fraction placement
uniform
85.4
89.0
0.77
1.33
13.9
9.67
81.7
81.1
0.20
3.5
18.1
15.4
Nutrient interaction
Effect of Nitrogen on dry matter, Pdff, and P utilization at flowering and seed yield at harvest.
N ( Kg ha-1)
S.No
Flowering stage
At harvest
Pdff (%)
P utilization (%)
4.5 11.7 18.5 18.3 4.9
Effect of P and S levels on total P uptake, percent Pdff and fertilizer P utilization by soybean seeds.
P uptake (mg/pot)
P levels 0 25 50 mean 0
Pdff (%)
S levels 25 50 mean 0
P utilization (%)
25
50
mean
7.3
7.8
8.3
7.8
17.5
9.1
9.0
8.8
9.0
20.6
23.7
23.1
22.5
10.7
12.1
11.6
11.5
35
10.0
10.9
11.1
10.7
26.6
31.6
35.0
31.1
76
9.9
11.1
9.5
mean
8.8
9.2
9.4
23.6
27.7
29
9.2
9.2
11.0
11.4
Dry matter (g/ pot) Treatments Normal control 4.4 Saline 3.7
P P + Zn
Zn CD at 5%
11.4 15.0
9.8 0.84
9.4 13.4
10.9
19.2 23
12.8 1.54
14.4 16.1
14.6
22.0 24.9
1.62
22.1 26.4
-
10.7 14.8
1.43
8.2 10.9
-
(Dravid , 1996)
Effect of different levels of initially applied P on percent Pdff and fertilizer P uptake from the directly applied basal applied doses by the succeeding crops
S.No P levels ( kg P ha-1) Pdff (%) 1 2 3 4 5 0 30 60 90 mean 43.23 38.93 29.23 28.46 34.96 Green gram Fertilizer p uptake (mg P / pot) 1.89 3.85 3.78 3.16 3.17 A value (mg P / pot) 22.91 27.37 42.24 43.86 34.09 Pdff (%) 36.23 28.13 27.30 17.53 27.29 Rice Fertilizer P uptake (mg P / pot) 2.49 2.56 3.49 3.40 2.98 A value (mg P / pot) 30.71 44.58 46.47 82.09 50.96
Effect of P levels and vam application on Pdff, Pdfs, and phosphorus use efficiency in tomato plant
S.No treatments P uptake (mg/pot) 147 Pdff (%) 27.3 Pdfs (%) 72.7 PUE (%) 18.12
120
26.4
73.6
19.8
189
33.1
66.9
28.5
140
23.1
76.9
20.2
Effect of different biofertilizers on root dry weight (g plant-1), Pdff and P utilization of chickpea
S.No
Biofertilizers
Root dry weight (g plant-1) P0 0.089 0.214 0.149 P60 0.230 0.385 0.312
Pdff (%)
1 2 3
2.8 90.7 -
32.5 34.1 35
Glomus macrcarpum
mean
77.8
57.1
60.8
45.7
0.179
0.157
0.348
0.318
35.8
34.3
17.7
16.4
32P
The root studies are extremely important in given soil and to device adequate cultural practices for maximizing the yield. The growth of the plants depends not only on the total quantity of nutrients present in the soil but also on the capacity of the root system to extract water and nutrients. Tracer techniques for root studies
32P
was introduced into the soil in angular pattern of spots at different depths from the plants.
Once the radioisotope is traced in the plant above ground, it was calculated that roots have extended to, or beyond this spot. This method is especially suited for field crops and disturbs soil minimum. In principle any radioisotope, not liable to much dispersion from the zone of placement and having nuclear characteristics of easy detection is suitable.
32P
Radioisotope technique is the easiest, prcised technique to evaluate or screening the drought tolerance varieties. The aim was to relate the P uptake under moisture stress to drought tolerance. Drought tolerant cultivars had low P uptake under controlled (non stress) condition. Under moisture stress, the absorption and translocation of 32P was inhibited and the effect was more pronounced on translocation.
The severity of 32P uptake was related to moisture stress tolerance of the cultivar, lesser the inhibition more was the tolerance.
Hence, 32P uptake could be employed as an indictor of drought tolerance in developing a screening test based on radiotracer technique.
Conclusion
32P
isotopic techniques to get a better understanding of the dynamics of soil P and evaluating the agronomic effectiveness of local rock phosphate sources in cropping systems of well-defined agro-ecological zones.
32P
techniques are useful in the identification genotypes which are P deficient and Al tolerant
32P
32P
helps to study the mechanism of mobility of P ions, i.e. rate and extent of soil-solution transfer of orthophosphate ions, in P- deficient and heavily P fertilized soils