Phosphorus influx characteristics of maize at various growth stages
- 1Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 USA
- 2National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, 275 S. Russell St, West Lafayette, IN 47907 USA
- 3Livestock and range research laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Miles City, MT 59301 USA
Abstract
Background and purpose: Phosphorus (P) influx kinetics of plants, characterized by Imax (maximum uptake rate) and Km (P concentration where the uptake rate equals half of Imax), serve an important furnction in quantifying P use efficiency. In addition, knowledge of Imax and Km at various developmental growth stages is used in modelling P uptake. The objective of this study was to evaluate if and how Imax and Km vary across growth stages and between different maize (Zea mays) hybrids.
Methods: Four corn hybrids, released in 1952, 2008, 2018, and 2023, were grown in a sand-culture hydroponics system to various developmental stages (V4, V7, V12, R1, R3, R4, R5, and R6). After non-destructive harvesting, roots of intact plants were washed free of sand and placed in solution to measure P uptake using the solution nutrient depletion method to determine Imax and Km.
Results: Results showed that Imax and Km (per-plant basis) were similar among corn hybrids but different between growth stages. Imax and Km values increased until around V12 stage and then remained relatively stable throughout the reproductive stages (R1–R6). When expressed per unit root surface area (RSA), Imax peaked at V4 to V7, declined drastically until V12, and remained relatively stable between R1 and R6. Imax expressed per unit RSA was also similar across hybrids.
Conclusion: Previous work assumed constant Imax and Km across growth stages; thus, these findings represent a substantial advancement in understanding P influx kinetics and results can be used to improve P uptake models. Results also demonstrated how P influx was partly dictated by root and shoot P concentration, rather than total biomass.
Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-026-09577-5.
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BibTeX
@article{ampong2026phosphorus,
title = {{Phosphorus influx characteristics of maize at various growth stages}},
author = {Kwame Ampong and Chad Penn and James Camberato and Daniel Quinn and Cankui Zhang and Kurt Reinhart and Mark Williams},
journal = {BMC Plant Biology},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12870-026-09577-5},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-026-09577-5},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Phosphorus influx characteristics of maize at various growth stages
AU - Kwame Ampong
AU - Chad Penn
AU - James Camberato
AU - Daniel Quinn
AU - Cankui Zhang
AU - Kurt Reinhart
AU - Mark Williams
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/30
JO - BMC Plant Biology
DO - 10.1186/s12870-026-09577-5
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-026-09577-5
AB - Background and purpose: Phosphorus (P) influx kinetics of plants, characterized by Imax (maximum uptake rate) and Km (P concentration where the uptake rate equals half of Imax), serve an important furnction in quantifying P use efficiency. In addition, knowledge of Imax and Km at various developmental growth stages is used in modelling P uptake. The objective of this study was to evaluate if and how Imax and Km vary across growth stages and between different maize (Zea mays) hybrids. Methods: Four corn hybrids, released in 1952, 2008, 2018, and 2023, were grown in a sand-culture hydroponics system to various developmental stages (V4, V7, V12, R1, R3, R4, R5, and R6). After non-destructive harvesting, roots of intact plants were washed free of sand and placed in solution to measure P uptake using the solution nutrient depletion method to determine Imax and Km. Results: Results showed that Imax and Km (per-plant basis) were similar among corn hybrids but different between growth stages. Imax and Km values increased until around V12 stage and then remained relatively stable throughout the reproductive stages (R1–R6). When expressed per unit root surface area (RSA), Imax peaked at V4 to V7, declined drastically until V12, and remained relatively stable between R1 and R6. Imax expressed per unit RSA was also similar across hybrids. Conclusion: Previous work assumed constant Imax and Km across growth stages; thus, these findings represent a substantial advancement in understanding P influx kinetics and results can be used to improve P uptake models. Results also demonstrated how P influx was partly dictated by root and shoot P concentration, rather than total biomass. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-026-09577-5.
SN - 1471-2229
ER -