Tomato and eggplant nitrogen utilization efficiency in Mediterranean environments
Source: Francesco Sunseri
Nitrogen (N) is a limiting factor for plant growth and crop yield. For this reason, N fertilization has increased in excess compared to crop requirement, causing massive environment damages. Therefore, to minimize N input, an efficient fertilizer management together with the identification of high N-use efficient (NUE) genotypes could be the main challenge to sustain high crop yields reducing environmental costs.
Field-potted eggplant experiment growth at low N concentration (IPV Valencia, Spain – copyright J. Prohens)
NUE defined as “grain production per unit of N available in the soil” is a complex trait, regulated by multiple interacting genetic and environmental factors, which includes two main components. N-Uptake Efficiency (NUpE) and N-Utilization Efficiency (NUtE) describe the ability of plants to take up N from the soil and to assimilate and use N to produce grain, respectively.
SOLNUE aim is to provide knowledge and strategies for sustainable cropping systems by the reduction of N fertilizer, using tomato and eggplant as target species. The development of high NUE genotypes is considered more challenging than the improvement of N fertilization management.
Field eggplant experiment growth at different N concentrations (CREA GB Montanaso Lombardo (LO), Italy – copyright G.L. Rotino)
During the first 15 months, several key findings were reached by SOLNUE project as followed detailed:
Source: Francesco Sunseri
Prof Francesco Sunseri
Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, AGRARIA, ITALY
Email: Francesco.sunseri@unirc.it
Prof Jaime Prohens
Universitat Politècnica de València, Instituto de Conservación y Mejora de la Agrodiversidad Valenciana, SPAIN
Dr Giuseppe L. Rotino
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Genomics and Bioinformatics, ITALY
Mrs Frederique Bitton
INRA, BAP, FRANCE
Mauceri, A., Abenavoli, M. R., Toppino, L., Panda, S., Mercati, F., Aci, M. M., Aharoni, A., Sunseri, F., Rotino, G. L., & Lupini, A. (2021). Transcriptomics reveal new insights into molecular regulation of nitrogen use efficiency in Solanum melongena. Journal of Experimental Botany, 72(12), 4237-4253.
Villanueva, G., Rosa-Martínez, E., Şahin, A., García-Fortea, E., Plazas, M., Prohens, J., & Vilanova, S. (2021). Evaluation of Advanced Backcrosses of Eggplant with Solanum elaeagnifolium Introgressions under Low N Conditions. Agronomy, 11(9), 1770.
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Aci, M. M., Lupini, A., Mauceri, A., Sunseri, F., & Abenavoli, M. R. (2021). New insights into N-utilization efficiency in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under N limiting condition. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 166, 634-644.
Mauceri, A., Aci, M. M., Toppino, L., Panda, S., Meir, S., Mercati, F., Araniti, F., Lupini, A., Panuccio, M. R., Rotino, G. L., Aharoni, A., Abenavoli, M. R. & Sunseri, F. (2022) Uncovering pathways highly correlated to NUE through a combined metabolomics and transcriptomics approach in eggplant. Plants, 11, 750.