Effect of Nitrification Inhibitor 3,4-Dimethylpyrazole Phosphate (DMPP) on the Yield and Nitrate Accumulation of Spinach in Different Soils

آب و خاک

Article 8, Volume 33, Issue 5 - Serial Number 67, November 2020, Pages 751-762   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/jsw.v33i5.80074

Authors

Mahbubeh Gheitasi; Ali Reza Hosseinpur

Abstract

Introduction: Leafy vegetables such as spinach (Spinaciaoleracea L.) contain high levels of nitrate. Using nitrification inhibitors (NIs) such as 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) is one of the strategies for reducing nitrate accumulation. Nitrification inhibitors are compounds that delay the biological oxidation of ammonium to nitrite by depressing the activity of Nitrosomonas bacteria in soil. Soil properties such as texture, pH, organic matter, moisture, temperature and mineral nitrogen have important effects on the efficiency of NIs to delay nitrification. A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of NI 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) on soil mineral nitrogen (ammonium and nitrate) content, yield and nitrate concentration of spinach.
Materials and Methods: A completely randomized factorial design was carried out employing three factors consisted of nitrogen fertilizer type, soil type and spinach variety with three replications at Shahrekord University. Nitrogen fertilizers included urea, ammonium sulfate nitrate (ASN) and ASN plus DMPP (0.8 %). A no N fertilizer application was considered as control treatment. The soil factor contained 3 different soils with different physical and chemical characteristics. Two spinach varieties were smooth-leaf (Giant Santos) and wrinkled-leaf (Viking). The dose of applied nitrogen in all experimental treatments was 150 mg kg-1 soil that was applied in two split doses before sowing and after one month. The textures of three selected soils were loamy sand, loam and silty clay for the soils number 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Three selected soils were non-saline (EC1:2=0.14-0.31 dS m-1) and alkaline (pH1:2=7.9-8.0). Organic carbon and calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE) ranged from 0.26% to 0.35% and 28.5% to 36.2%, respectively. At 30 and 60 days after sowing, soil subsamples were taken to determine ammonium and nitrate content. The ammonium and nitrate concentrations (extracted with 0.5 M K2SO4) were determined calorimetrically using a spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 667 and 410 nm, respectively. At the end of the experiment, shoot fresh weight was determined and plants was mixed and dried to measure nitrate accumulation.
Results and Discussion: The results indicated that the application of ASN with DMPP led to significant increase of ammonium compared with ASN and urea fertilizers in three soils. At 30 days after sowing, the amount of this increase for ASN plus DMPP in comparison of ASN and urea were 182% and 78% for the soil number 1 (loamy sand), 105% and 65% for the soil number 2 (loam) and 89% and 74% for the soil number 3 (silty clay), respectively. By contrast, the application of ASN with DMPP led to significant decrease of soil nitrate in comparison of ASN and urea fertilizers in three soils. At 60 days after sowing, the amount of this decrease for ASN plus DMPP in comparison of ASN was 52%, 40% and 27% for the soils number of 1, 2 and 3, respectively. It means that the application of DMPP has slowed down the process of ammonium oxidation to nitrite. In fact, the addition of DMPP retained soil nitrogen as ammonium form for longer time. The application of NI DMPP also had positive effect on decrease of nitrate concentration in the soil. Unlike nitrate, ammonium is less susceptible to leaching and thus the application of DMPP can reduces nitrogen loss from the soil. However, the application of ASN with nitrification inhibitor DMPP in soils No. 2 (loamy sand) and No. 3 (loamy) significantly reduced shoot fresh weight of both spinach varieties compared with the similar treatment but without NI. This decrease was due to the toxic effects of high level of soil ammonium on the plant growth. While, in the soil No. 3 (silty clay) in Viking variety, the use of ASN plus DMPP resulted in significant increase of spinach shoot fresh weight to 29% in comparison with the same treatment but without NI. The highest and lowest values of shoot fresh weight (229 and 16.2 g pot-1, respectively) were obtained by Giant Santos variety in soil No. 3 (silty clay) with ASN plus DMPP and soil No. 1 (sandy loam) with no added N fertilizer. The application of ASN with nitrification inhibitor DMPP induced significant decrease of shoot nitrate concentration in spinach in comparison of ASN and urea. The amounts of this decrease for ASN plus DMPP in comparison with ASN and urea were 25.7% and 31.5% for the soil number 1 (loamy sand), 29.1% and 37.1% for the soil number 2 (loam) and 33.9% and 34.0% for the soil number 3 (silty clay), respectively. This decrease was due to ammonium nutrition of spinach plants.
Conclusion: In all studied soils, application of ASN with nitrification inhibitor DMPP is recommended for diminishing nitrate content in both spinach varieties (Giant Santos and Viking).

Keywords

Ammonium; Ammonium sulfate nitrate; Nitrification inhibitor; Urea

References

1- Ali Ehyayi M., and Behbehanizadeh A.A. 1993. Methods of Soil Analysis. Soil and Water Research Institute Press, Tehran.

2- Barth G., Tucher S.V., and Schmidhalter U. 2001. Influence of soil parameters on the effect of 3,4-dimethylpyrazole-phosphate as a nitrification inhibitor. Biology and Fertility of Soils 34: 98–102.

3- Carrasco I., and Villar J.M. 2001. Field evaluation of DMPP as a nitrification inhibitor in the area irrigated by the Canal d’Urgell (Northeast Spain). P. 764–765. In W.J. Horst et al (ed.) Plant Nutrition- Food security and sustainability of agro-ecosystems through basic and applied research. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

4- Cataldo D.A., Haroon M., Schrader L.E., and Youngs V.L. 1975. Rapid colorimetric determination of nitrate in plant tissue by nitration of salicylic acid. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 6: 71–80.

5- Chen D., Suter H.C., Islam A., Edis R., and Freney J.R. 2008. Prospects of improving efficiency of fertilizer nitrogen in Australian agriculture; a review of enhanced efficiency fertilizers. Australian Journal of Soil Research 46: 289–301.

6- Di H.J., and Cameron K.C. 2004. Effects of temperature and application rate of a nitrification inhibitor, dicyandiamide (DCD), on nitrification rate and microbial biomass in a grazed pasture system. Australian Journal of Soil Research 42: 927–932.

7- Diez-Lopez J.A., Hernaiz-Algarra P., Arauzo-Sanchez M., and Carrasco-Martin I. 2008. Effect of a nitrification inhibitor (DMPP) on nitrate leaching and maize yield during two growing seasons. Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research 6: 294–303.

8- EFSA. 2008. Nitrate in vegetables: scientific opinion of the panel on contaminants in the food chain. European Food Safety Authority Journal 689: 1–79.

9- Ehsanpour F., Kiani S., and Hosseinpur A. 2012. Effects of nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) and phosphorus (P) on the yield and P use efficiency of wheat. Iranian Journal of Water and Soil 26: 1473–1482. (In Persian with English abstract)

10- Fangueiro D., Fernandes A., Coutinho J., Moreira N., and Trindade H. 2009. Influence of two nitrification inhibitors (DCD and DMPP) on annual ryegrass yield and soil mineral N dynamics after incorporation with cattle slurry. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 40: 3387–3398.

11- Guillaumes E., and Villar J.M. 2004. Effects of DMPP on the growth and chemical composition of ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) raised on calcareous soil. Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research 2: 588–596.

12- Hatano S., Fujita Y., Nagumo Y., Ohtake N., Sueyoshi K., Takahashi Y., Sato T., Tanabata S., Higuchi K., Saito A., and Ohyama T. 2019. Effect of the nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate on the deep placement of nitrogen fertilizers for soybean cultivation. International Journal of Agronomy 1–11.

13- Huerfano X., Menendez S., Bolaños-Benavides M.M., Gonzalez-Moro M.B., Estavillo J.M., and Gonzalez-Murua C. 2016. The nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate decreases leaf nitrate content in lettuce while maintaining yield and N2O emissions in the Savanna of Bogota. Plant and Soil Environment 62: 533–539.

14- Irigoyen I., Lamsfus C., Aparicio-Tejo P., and Muro J. 2006. The influence of 3,4 dimethylpyrazole phosphate and dicyandiamide on reducing nitrate accumulation in spinach under Mediterranean conditions. Journal of Agricultural Science 144: 555–562.

15- Irigoyen I., Muro J., Azpilicueta M., Aparicio-Tejo P.M., and Lamsfus C. 2003. Ammonium oxidation kinetics in the presence of nitrification inhibitors DCD and DMPP at various temperatures. Australian Journal of Soil Research 41: 1177-1183.

16- Li H., Liang X., Chen Y., Lian Y., Tian G., and Ni W. 2008. Effect of nitrification inhibitor DMPP on nitrogen leaching, nitrifying organisms, and enzyme activities in a rice-oilseed rape cropping system. Journal of Environmental Sciences 20: 149–155.

17- Li W.L., Zhang Z.Z., Li D.P., Guo C.Y., Li Y.J., Yang M., Shi X.J., and Zhang Y.Q. 2018. Effects of three nitrification inhibitors on the nitrogen conversion in purple soil and its effect on the nitrogen uptake of citrus seedlings. Agricultural Sciences 9: 655–669.

18- Malakouti M.J., Keshavarz P., and Karimian N. 2008. A Comprehensive Approach towards Identification of Nutrients Deficiencies and Optimal Fertilization for Sustainable Agriculture. Tarbiat Modares University Press, Tehran.

19- Marschner P. 2012. Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants. Academic Press, London.

20- Montemurro F., Capotorti G., Lacertosa G., and Palazzo D. 1998. Effect of urease and nitrification inhibitors application on urea fate in soil and nitrate accumulation in lettuce. Journal of Plant Nutrition 21: 242–245.

21- Mulvaney R.L. 1996. Nitrogen–inorganic forms. p. 1123–1184. In: D.L. Sparks (ed.) Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 3. SSSA and ASA, Madison, WI.

22- Pasda G., Hahndel R., and Zerulla W. 2001. Effect of fertilizers with the new nitrification inhibitor DMPP (3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate) on yield and quality of agricultural and horticultural crops. Biology and Fertility of Soils 34: 85–97.

23- Quiñones A., Martinez-Alcàntra B., Chi-Bacab U., and Legaz F. 2009. Improvement of the N fertilization by using the nitrification inhibitor (DMPP) in drip-irrigated citrus trees. Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research 7: 190–199.

24- Rybarova Z., Slamka P., Lozek O., and Kovacik P. 2018. Effectiveness of the application of nitrification inhibitors on the content of available nitrogen forms in the soil after winter barley cultivation. Agriculture, 64:95–105.

25- Rayyan A.A., Kharawish B.H., and Al-Ismail K. 2004. Nitrate content in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) heads in relation to plant spacing, nitrogen from and irrigation level. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 84: 931–936.

26- Richadsons J., and Hardgrave M. 1992. Effect of temperature, carbon dioxide enrichment, nitrogen fertilizer on the yield and nitrate content of two varieties of glasshouse lettuce. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 59: 345–349.

27- Risch H.A., Jain M., Choi N.W., Fodor J.G., Pfeiffer C.J., Howe G.R., Harrison L.W., Craib K.J.P., and Miller A.B. 1985. Dietary factors and the incidence of cancer of the stomach. American Journal of Epidemiology 122: 947–949.

28- Santamaria P. 2006. Review – nitrate in vegetables: toxicity content, intake and EC regulation. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 86:10–17.

29- Serna M., Balnus J., and Quinones A. 2000. Evaluation of 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate as a nitrification inhibitor in citrus-cultivated soil. Biology and Fertility of Soils 32: 41–46.

30- Serna M.D., Legaz F., and Primo-Millo E. 1996. Improvement of the N fertilizer efficiency with dicyandiamide (DCD) in citrus trees. Fertilizer Research 43: 137–142.

31- Singh S.N., and Verma A. 2007. The potential of nitrification inhibitors to manage the pollution effect of nitrogen fertilizers in agricultural and other soils: a review. Environmental Practice 9: 266–279.

32- Weiske A., Benckiser G., and Ottow J.C.G. 2001. Effect of the new nitrification inhibitor DMPP in comparison to DCD on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and methane (CH4) oxidation during 3 years of repeated applications in field experiments. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 60: 57–64.

33- Weitzberg E., and Lundberg J.O. 2013. Novel aspects of dietary nitrate and human health. Annual Review of Nutrition 33: 129–159.

34- Xu C., Wu L.H., Ju X.T., and Zhang F.S. 2005. Role of nitrification inhibitor DMPP (3, 4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate) in nitrate accumulation in greengrocery (Brassica campestris L. ssp. Chinensis) and vegetable soil. Journal of Environmental Sciences 17: 81–83.

35- Zerulla W., Barth T., Dressel J., Von Locquenghien K.E.K.H., Pasda G., Radle M., and Wissemeier A.H. 2001. 3,4-Dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) –a new nitrification inhibitor for agriculture and horticulture. Biology and Fertility of Soils 34: 79–84.