Variation in the export of 13C and 15N from soybean leaf: the effects of nitrogen application and sink removal

Translocation of carbon and nitrogen within a single source-sink unit, comprising a trifoliated leaf, the axillary pod and the subtending internode, and from this unit to the rest of the plant was examined in soybean (Glycine max L. cv. Akishirome) plant by feeding 13CO2 and 15NO3. The plants were grown at two levels of nitrogen in the basal medium, i.e. low-N (2 g N m^–2) and high-N (35 g N m^–2) and a treatment of depodding was imposed by removing all the pods from the plant, except the pod of the source sink unit, 13 days after flowering. The plants at high-N accumulated more biomass in its organs compared to low-N and pod removal increased the weight of the vegetative organs. When the terminal leaflet of the source-sink unit was fed with 13CO2, almost all of the radioactive materials were retained inside the source-sink unit and translocation to rest of the plants was insignificant under any of the treatments imposed. Out of the13C exported by the terminal leaflet, less than half went into the axillary pod, as the lateral leaflets claimed equal share and very little material was deposited in the petiole. Pod removal decreased 13C export at high-N , but not at low-N. Similar to 13C, the source-sink unit retained all the 15N fed to the terminal leaflet at high-N. At low-N, the major part of 15N partitioning occurred in favour of the rest of the plant outside the source-sink unit, but removal of the competitve sinks from the rest of the plants nullified any partitioning outside the unit. Unlike the situation in 13C, no partitioning of 15N occurred in favour of the lateral leaflets from the terminal leaflet inside the unit. It is concluded that sink demand influences partitioning of both C and N and the translocation of carbon is different from that of nitrogen within a source-sink unit. The translocation of the N is more adjustive to a demand from other sink units compared to the C.