Agriculture Degree Program in China - Plant Nutrition

1. Introduction

Plant Nutrition is the discipline that studies the law of the nutrients’ absorption, transportation, transformation and utilization rules of plants and the exchange of nutrients and energy between the plant and the outer environment. The aim is to improve crop yield and improve product quality.

2. Main Tasks

Clarify the specific procedure of nutrient exchange and energy exchange between plants and the outer environment, and transport, distribution and energy transformation rules of inner nutrients, and on this basis, by means of rational application of fertilizer provide sufficient nutrients for plants, to create a good environment for nutrition, or to regulate the metabolism of plants by means of the characteristics of the genetic improvement of plant, improve the efficiency of plant nutrition, so as to improve the crop yield and improve the quality of products.

3. Research Categories

1) Nutrition physiology of plants: nutrition physiology, physiology of yield, physiology of stress physiology

2) The rhizosphere nutrition: study on the nutrient of root-soil interface micro area, moisture and other substances in the conversion rules and biological effects; plant soil microorganism and environmental factors between the material circulation, energy conversion mechanism and control measures.

3) Plant nutrition genetics: Study on the physiological and molecular mechanism and genetic law of different plant species and cultivars, so as to screen and breed new varieties with high nutrient efficiency.

4) Ecology of plant nutrition: nutritional elements in the study of different ecological types in the circle of soil, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere in the migration, transformation and cycling; various nutrient degradation mechanism of reconstruction of ecological environment in the process of nutrition, soil and environmental pollution of biological repair complex mechanism of heavy metals and contaminants in the food chain enrichment and migration regularity and control measures.

5) Soil nutrition of plants: behavior of soil nutrients, soil fertilizer dynamics

6) Fertilizer science and modern fertilization technology

Research of all kinds of fertilizers, physicochemical characters and agronomic evaluation, behavior in the soil, on plant nutrition; establish to organic and inorganic fertilizer reasonable allocation for the center of rotation and fertilization system and the establishment of electronic computer crop fertilization decision-making and consultation system, the implementation of quantitative formula fertilizer to use new technologies.

4. Research Methods

1) Biological field test: the most basic research methods of plant nutrition.

2) The biological simulation method: with the aid of the pot, the culture box and so on special plant carries on the plant nutrition research; usually is called the pot experiment or the training test.

3) Chemical analysis: study on the content, distribution and dynamic change of nutrient content in plant, soil and fertilizer system.

4) Mathematical statistics method: in modern plant nutrition research, mathematical statistics has become a guide test design, test and test data is an indispensable means and methods.

5) Radionuclide technique: use of the characteristics of radioactive and stable isotopes to track their changes to reveal the laws of the movement of the material.

6) Enzymology diagnosis method: because some nutrient elements is the enzyme activator, or is a role in the stabilization of the enzyme structure, or have a regulatory role. Therefore, understanding changes in the activity of some enzymes in plant can reflect the nutritional status of the plants.

5. Training Objectives

Through the program courses study and practice of scientific research, the students systematically master basic theory and practice skills of plant nutrition and fertilizer, and the subjects of research trends and development of cutting-edge; familiar soil science, crop science and other related disciplines theory and method, an independent in the disciplines of scientific research, teaching and other work ability.

6. Research Directions

1) Principles of plant nutrition and fertilization technology

2) Adversity plant nutrition

3) Development and application of new fertilizer