Evaluation of a rapid method for plant sap nitrate analysis

Abstract

A rapid method of analysis of nitrate in plant sap using Merck test strips was evaluated. Accuracy and precision of the strips was found to be acceptable in a test in which aqueous samples were tested by four operators. Nitrate N was measured in five vegetable crops at two stages of growth by two methods: squeezing sap from fresh petiole or stem tissue with NO3‐N determination by Merck test strip; and acetic acid extraction from dried petiole or stem tissue with NO3‐N determination by autoanalyser. The relationship between the two methods was found to be highly significant with coefficient of determination exceeding 0.82 in eight out of 10 cases (crops x sampling dates). When the strip results were corrected for moisture content the relationship with the laboratory method improved in most cases.     

全波长扫描式多功能读数仪-硫酸肼还原比色法测定水中硝态氮含量

利用全波长扫描式多功能读数仪(酶标仪)这一多通道光学系统的分光光度计,结合硫酸肼还原比色法,建立了酶标仪-硫酸肼还原比色法批量测定水中硝态氮的方法,该方法检出限为NO-3-N质量浓度0.015 mg/L;加标回收率在88.0%～109.8%之间,该方法与连续流动分析仪测定水中的硝态氮结果之间呈良好的线性相关关系,回归直线方程为Y(连续流动分析仪)=1.153X(酶标仪-硫酸肼还原比色法)-0.255,相关系数R=0.987**(n=29,P0.01)。4个水样重复6次测定,测定结果的相对标准偏差均小于5%。全波长扫描式多功能读数仪(酶标仪)-硫酸肼还原比色法测定结果准确,精密度高,可用于快速批量测定水中硝态氮含量。     

Collaborative study of the colorimetric determination of nitrate and nitrite in cheese.

A quantitative colorimetric method for the determination of nitrate and nitrite in cheese has been subjected to collaborative study. The method includes clarification of an aqueous extract of cheese with zinc hydroxide, reduction of nitrate to nitrite via a spongy cadmium collumn (the nitrite originally present is unaltered), diazotization of sulfanilic acid with the nitrite, and coupling with 1-naphthylamine hydrochloride to form a pink azo dye whose absorbance is measured at 522 nm. The spectrophotometric responses are compared to a standard curve. In samples containing both nitrate and nitrite, nitrate is determined by difference. A standard deviation of 5.5 was obtained (5 of 6 collaborators) when a cheese sample spiked with 276 ppm sodium nitrate was analyzed by the method. The method has been adopted as official first action.     

Simplified procedure for rapid,manual analysis of nitrate in soil extracts by copper‐cadmium reduction

Abstract

An inexpensive modification of the commonly used manual nitrate (NO₃)‐nitrogen (N) analysis for soil extracts is described. This procedure uses multiple reductors of copperized cadmium (Cd) wire threaded through Teflon tubing and a peristaltic pump to rapidly pass a low volume of soil extract through the reductors at a constant flow rate. In excess of 150 prepared samples can be processed daily with minimum waste generation. Efficiency of reduction is >98% and precision of analysis (coefficient of variation) for replicate standards of known NO₃‐N concentration is excellent, at <0.5% over the concentration range 0.025 to 0.2 μg NO₃‐N mL^‐1. Column life and storage characteristics are high, at >250 samples per column and one month, respectively. Column activation and regeneration in these wire type reductors are simpler and less tedious than for reductors constructed of copperized Cd granules.     

A rapid microwave digestion method for colorimetric measurement of soil organic carbon

Abstract

Soil organic matter is an active component of agroecosystems. Rapid and precise measurement of organic carbon (C_org) is essential to monitor changes in organic matter and soil quality. A new semi‐micro wet digestion method for the determination of C_org was developed using rapid microwave energy applied at 500 J mL^‐1 digestion mixture to enhance oxidation of C_org by K₂Cr₂O₇and conc. H₂SO₄. This proposed method and three existing methods of soil C determination were compared with the LECO dry combustion carbon analyzer. The r² value for the proposed microwave method regressed against LECO C was 0.9913. The recovery of C_org by the rapid microwave digestion method for spectrophotometric measurement was 91.7±1.2% (conversion factor 1.09) of C measured by the LECO dry combustion method. Compared to the traditional Walkley‐Black's method, the proposed spectrophotometric with microwave digestion method was rapid and more precise, used smaller reagent volumes, and produced less waste.     

A rapid method for nitrogen determination in plant tissue

Abstract

A method is described for determining the total N content of plant tissue by a modified Kjeldahl digestion employing a Technicon Auto‐Analyzer. It is faster than the manual AOAC Kjeldahl method. Reproducibility is not as good as that for the AOAC method, but coefficients of variability are comparable with those for the analyses of mineral elements in plant tissue by emission spectroscopy.     

Quantitative determination of nitrogen content in plant tissue by a colorimetric method

Abstract

This study was to evaluate the applicability of a colorimetric method in measuring the nitrogen (N) concentration in samples of vegetable origin. In order to do this, the same samples were analyzed with a colorimetric, and macro‐ and microKjeldahl methods. The colorimetric method has been used successfully in the determination of N in nutritional studies with rats and humans. The present procedure has the advantage of eliminating the distillation and titration steps of the Kjeldahl method and it is practical for nutritional studies, since many samples can be run in a single day. The N concentration was measured in leaves of two tropical grasses: Paspalum fasciculatum Willd. ex Flugge and Hyparrhenia rufa (Nees) Stapf, and a Standard Reference Material (SRM 1547 Peach Leaves). In all cases, there were no significant difference (P>0.05) in N concentration in these plant materials using the colorimetric, and micro‐ and macroKjeldahl methods. There was a good agreement between the N concentration of Peach leaves determined by the colorimetric method (2.94%) and the certified N concentration (2.94%). Hyparrhenia rufa, the African grass, and P. fasciculatum, the native species, showed very low N concentration in their leaves, respectively. These results indicate that the colorimetric method, with some light adjustments, is capable of determining the N concentration in plant samples of diverse origin and in very low N levels. The low N concentrations of the grass species suggest the strong limitation imposed by the low soil fertility for the growth and establishment of forage species in tropical savannas.     

Automated method for determining nitrate and nitrite in water and soil extracts

Abstract

This paper describes an AutoAnalyzer method for measuring nitrate plus nitrite in thirteen commonly used soil extraction solutions. The AutoAnalyzer is normally equipped with a column containing cadmium chips. In this study the column is replaced with a cadmium‐silver wire inserted in plastic tubing which has several advantages. There is no compaction of cadmium chips, it eliminates the need to debubble the sample stream before it enters the reductor, the dead volume is decreased, and it eliminates the copper sulfate treatment process except for one given the first time the wire is used. The method is also excellent for measuring nitrate plus nitrite in rain water.     

Phosphate interference in the Devarda's alloy reduction method for nitrate

Abstract

Phosphate interfered markedly with a Devarda's alloy distillation method for the determination of nitrate. Only 9% of added nitrate was recovered by this method when 200 mg P was present. This interference can be overcome by the addition of calcium ions, to precipitate the phosphate, and an extended distillation time.     

不同氮素水平对甜菜硝酸还原酶和亚硝酸还原酶活性的影响

以当前甜菜（Beta Vulgaris L.）生产主栽品种KWS0143为试材,设立4个氮素水平（N 0、60、120、180 kg/hm2）,研究硝态氮肥对甜菜硝酸还原酶（nitrate reductase, NR）和亚硝酸还原酶（nitrite reductase, NiR）活性以及光合速率与叶绿素总含量的影响,探讨了氮素水平与NR及NiRA之间的关系。结果表明:在甜菜生育期间,光合速率呈单峰曲线变化,NR、NiR活性及叶绿素总含量基本呈双峰曲线变化,叶绿素变化曲线的高峰期早于NR活性,NR活性早于NiR活性。氮肥用量在N 120 kg/hm2时显著提高了甜菜光合速率、叶绿素总含量、NR活性和NiR活性。相比于N 120 kg/hm2,N 180 kg/hm2时光合速率及叶绿素总含量没有明显变化,NR与NiR活性则有一定的提高。本试验中,甜菜产量随氮水平的增加而提高;含糖率则相反,随氮水平的增加而降低,N 120 kg/hm2水平下产糖量最高。     

Influence of the presence of nitrite and nitrate in soil on maize biomass production, nitrogen immobilization and nitrogen recovery

 When comparing nitrite (NO₂ ^–) and nitrate (NO₃ ^–) toxicity to maize (Zea mays L.) growth, it is important to know the fate of applied nitrogen (N). A pot experiment, using potassium nitrite (K¹⁵NO₂) and potassium nitrate (K¹⁵NO₃) was conducted to determine the fate of N (0, 75, 150, and 225 mg N kg^–1 soil) applied to a sandy loam soil collected from Gistel (Belgium). The total dry weight of the plants treated with NO₂ ^– was lower than that of the plants treated with NO₃ ^– at 15 and 26 days after N application (harvest 1 and harvest 2, respectively). Shoot and root biomass reduction started at a relatively low NO₂ ^– application rate (75 mg NO₂ ^–-N kg^–1). Biomass reduction increased, at both harvests with increasing amounts of NO₂ ^– to more than 55% at the highest application rate (225 mg NO₃ ^–-N kg^–1). In the NO₃ ^– treatment, a reduction of 16% in total plant dry biomass was recorded only at the highest application rate (225 mg NO₂ ^–-N kg^–1), at both harvest times. The ¹⁵N plant uptake (shoots plus roots) at harvest 1 decreased with increasing N application rates of both N forms (KNO₂ and KNO₃). Twenty-six days after the N application, the total ¹⁵N taken up by the plant increased in all treatments in comparison with 15 days after the N application. However, only at higher rates of N application (150 and 225 mg N kg^–1) was the ¹⁵N uptake by the NO₂ ^– fed plants significantly lower than by the NO₃ ^– fed plants. The percentage of immobilized N from the applied N was low (0–17.7%) at both harvests, irrespective of the N source. However, with relatively low N application rates (75 mg N kg^–1), the immobilized N in the soil decreased with time. This may be due to the re-mineralization of the applied N. The percentage of inorganic ¹⁵N in the soil in NO₂ ^– treatments was slightly lower than in equivalent doses of NO₃ ^–. This might be due to higher losses of N as N-oxides. Unaccounted for N from the applied N ranged from 21% to 52% for the NO₂ ^– treatments and from 3% to 38% for the NO₃ ^– treatments. Received: 17 July 1997     

A rapid method for estimating labile carbon and nitrogen pools in Mollisols under no-tillage

The objective of this study was to adapt the partial chemical digestion method for estimation of labile soil organic matter pools by evaluating the effect of different digestion times in Mollisols of the Argentine Pampas. The soils were sampled from nine agricultural fields under no-tillage at the 0–20 cm depth. A chemical method was performed through partial soil digestion with dilute sulphuric acid at 100°C on the basis of four digestion times: 1 (N_d1), 2 (N_d2), 4 (N_d4) and 6 (N_d6) hours. Soil organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) fractions were determined. The extracted organic N (N_d) ranged from 0.076 g kg^?1 to 0.273 g kg^?1, with a mean of 0.154 g kg^?1. Statistically, the means for each digestion time indicated highly significant differences (P = 0.008). High correlations were found between N_d for different times and labile C and N fractions. However, the best fit prediction was observed between N_d2 and soil total carbohydrates (CHt), with a high coefficient of determination (R² = 0.94). Partial chemical digestion for 2 h can be used as a rapid indicator to accurately predict CHt. Because of its speed and simplicity, this method may also be useful for rapid soil quality assessments.     

应用间隔流动分析仪测定土壤硝态氮和亚硝态氮含量

使用SAN++间隔流动分析仪,研究了测定土壤硝酸盐和亚硝酸盐的新方法。结果表明,SAN++间隔流动分析仪在测定土壤中NO-3-N和NO-2-N含量时标准曲线相关系数均在0.999 5以上,检测限分别为N 0.20 mg/kg和20.00μg/kg,回收率在98.0%~101.8%之间,相对标准偏差在0.95%~2.25%之间,具有较高的精密度、准确度。该方法使用2.0 mol/L KCl溶液作为浸提剂,适用于吉林省不同土壤类型,并具有线性范围宽、分析速度快、样品用量少、自动化程度高和同时测定土壤中NO-3-N和NO-2-N等优点。     

Chloroform fumigation and the release of soil nitrogen: A rapid direct extraction method to measure microbial biomass nitrogen in soil

A new “direct extraction” method for measuring soil microbial biomass nitrogen (biomass N) is described. The new method (fumigation-extraction) is based on CHC1₃ fumigation, followed by immediate extraction with 0.5 M K₂SO₄ and measurement of total N released by CHC1₃ in the soil extracts. The amounts of NH₄-N and total N extracted by K₂SO₄ immediately after fumigation increased with fumigation time up to 5 days. Total N released by CHC1₃ after 1 day fumigation (1 day CHC1₃-N) and after 5 days fumigation (5 day CHC1₃-N) were positively correlated with the flush of mineral N (F_N) in 37 soils that had been fumigated, the fumigant removed and the soils incubated for 10 days (fumigation-incubation). The regression equations were 1 day CHC1₃-N = (0.79 ± 0.022) F_N and 5 day CHC1₃-N = (1.01 ± 0.027) F_N, both regressions accounting for 92% of the variance in the data.In field soils previously treated with ¹⁵N-labelled fertilizer, the amounts of labelled N, measured after fumigation-extraction, were very similar to the amounts of labelled N mineralized during fumigation-incubation; both were about 4 times as heavily labelled as the soil N as a whole. These results suggest that fumigation-extraction and fumigation-incubation both measure the same fraction of the soil organic N (probably the cytoplasmic component of the soil microbial biomass) and that measurement of the total N released by CHC1₃ fumigation for 24 h provides a rapid method for measuring biomass N.     

A nitrogen cycle model for calculating the reduction of N-input necessary to reduce soil acidification and nitrate leaching and the consequences of this for wood production

The biogeochemical cycle of elements has been established in a spruce stand in the French Ardennes on a site with a poor acidic soil and a large inputs of nitrogen and sulphate from the atmosphere. This paper shows the interest of studying the seasonal N cycle instead of the global annual cycle, because part of the N input seems to be immobilized in the soil during the dormant season and is released afterwards and taken up during the growing season, and because of the important participation of N inputs in the N-uptake by trees during the growing season. The very large amount of NO₃-N leached towards the water table level should be reduced. Using the seasonal cycles, we discuss the relationship between the desirable reduction in the NO₃-N output and the N (NH₄-N + NO₃-N) input. A fertilization trial, including N and Ca, shows a decrease in the wood production after N fertilization. These models give us the opportunity to calculate the reduction of wood production in relation to the reduction of the N input in the ecosystem.     

A rapid steam distillation method of assessing potentially available organic nitrogen in soil

Abstract

A rapid steam distillation of assessing potentially available organic nitrogen in soil is described. It involves determination of the ammonia‐N produced by steam distillation of the soil sample with pH 11.2 phosphate‐borate buffer solution for 8 min. The method is simple and precise, and its results are not significantly affected by air‐drying or air‐dry storage of the soil sample before analysis. It is well suited for use in soil testing laboratories because it does not require extraction, filtration or transfer steps. Studies using 33 Brazilian soils showed that the results obtained by this method were highly correlated with those obtained by aerobic and anaerobic incubation methods of assessing potentially available organic nitrogen in soil.     

Inclusion of nitrate and nitrite in the Kjeldahl nitrogen determination of soils and plant materials using sodium thiosulphate

Abstract

Soil applications of boron were applied shortly before transplanting dormant strawberry plants into the field in early April. Composite samples of ‘Benton’ and ‘Tristar’ grown under soil applied B fertilizer rates of 0, 1.1, 2.2, and 4.5 kg/ha B were taken during June, August, and September in 1985. ‘Benton’ plants were resampled in April 1986. Tissue concentrations and dry weights were determined for up to ten plant parts. Concentrations decreased over time. Differences in B content between treatments were greatest early in the season and gradually disappeared. The amounts of boron in different plant parts were similar by September for ‘Tristar’ and in the following spring for ‘Benton’. Even though total boron content in strawberry plants could be doubled with the high boron application, little change occurred in nonleaf tissues. Approximately 90% of the additional boron in a plant resulting from soil application of B was found in the leaves. Total B content of nonleaf tissues was similar regardless of B treatment. Interpreting boron concentrations was difficult because all plant parts were signficantly correlated to leaf concentrations, even though total boron uptake of nonleaf tissues did not differ between treatments. Elevated B concentrations were partly due to decreases in dry weight. Leaf tissue analysis did not accurately indicate B status of other plant parts and tissue concentrations can be misleading if total B contents are not evaluated.     

A colorimetric method for estimating vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal infection in roots

A colorimetric method measuring the conversion of fungal chitin to glucosamine has been used to estimate the intensity of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal infection in roots. The technique has been used successfully with four plant genera and with four different endophytes.     

Potato nitrogen management by monitoring petiole nitrate level

Petiole nitrate nitrogen (NO₃‐N) concentrations have been successfully used in Northwestern New Mexico to make timely nitrogen (N) recommendations for irrigated potatoes. However, a quick test and consistent sampling time is needed to precisely determine fertigation and to prevent over fertilization, especially in sandy soils. This study examined the petiole NO₃‐N dynamics during the growing season for both chipping and table stock varieties. Readings from a quick in‐field sap NO₃‐N meter were highly correlated with NO₃‐N indications using the conventional laboratory method. The sap NO₃‐N meter can significantly reduce testing turnaround time and has great potential for potato N management. Results showed that most consistent NO₃‐N readings could be obtained by collecting tissue samples between 1100 and 1400 hours of the day.     

A microscale method for colorimetric determination of urea in soil extracts

Abstract

The diacetyl monoxime colorimetric method of determining urea in soil extracts was modified for microplate format. A 100‐μL aliquot of extract was treated with color reagent in a disposable plastic microtiter plate (96 wells/plate), and color was developed by heating the plate in a low‐temperature oven at 87°C for 55 min. After cooling for 20 min at ambient temperature, absorbance measurements were simultaneously performed on all 96 wells using a microplate reader. The microscale method was faster and more convenient than the conventional method; moreover, the volume of waste was markedly reduced. Studies to compare the two methods showed very little difference in accuracy, precision, or sensitivity.