Genotypic variation in root morphology, cotton subtending leaf physiology and fiber quality against nitrogen

摘要

Background:Nitrogen(N)is important for improving various morphological and physiological processes of cotton but their contribution to fiber quality is still lacking.Aims:The current study aimed to explore the relationship between root morphology,subtending leaf physiology,and fiber quality of contrasting N-efficient cotton genotypes in response to N.Methods:We analyzed the above parameters of CCRI 69(N-efficient)and Xinluzao-30(XLZ-30,N-inefficient)under control(2.5 mmol·L^(-1))and high N(5 mmol·L^(-1))conditions.Results:The results showed that root morphological traits were increased in CCRI-69 under control conditions than high N.Subtending leaf morphology,chlorophyll and carotenoid contents,free amino acids,and soluble proteins were higher under high N as compared with the control.However,soluble sugars,fructose,sucrose contents,and sucrose phosphate synthase were higher under control conditions than high N across the growth stages.Irrespective of the N conditions,all morphological and physiological traits of cotton subtending leaf were higher in CCRI-69 than XLZ-30.Except for fiber uniformity,fiber quality traits like fiber length,strength,micronaire,and elongation were improved under control conditions than high N.Between the genotypes,CCRI-69 had significantly higher fiber length,strength,micronaire,and elongation as compared with XLZ-30.Strong positive correlations were found between root morphology,soluble sugars,sucrose content,and sucrose phosphate synthase activity with fiber quality traits,respectively.Conclusions:These findings suggest that CCRI-69 performed better in terms of growth and fiber quality under relatively low N condition,which will help to reduce fertilizer use,the cost of production,and environmental pollution.