Comparison of early season stem nitrate and leaf total nitrogen concentrations across corn hybrids

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Abstract
Basal stem nitrate‐N concentration in young maize plants has been proposed as a method to evaluate soil nitrogen (N) adequacy for near maximum yields. While plants are usually considered good integrators of soil N availability, adoption of tissue testing procedures to evaluate crop N status may depend on metabolic differences between maize cultivars. Research was initiated to evaluate if there are cultivar induced differences in basal stem nitrate‐N concentration and total N concentration in maize leaves at the V6 growth stage. A nitrification inhibitor (nitrapyrin) was incorporated into split plots at planting to create two inorganic N regimes. Large variations in basal stem nitrate concentration within hybrids precluded detection of differences between hybrids for either year of the study as a result of the nitrification inhibitor. In contrast, leaf N concentration was different between hybrids for both years, but was not affected by nitrapyrin treatment. Cultivar selection based on leaf N concentration may be one criterion used to identify genetic material with unique metabolic characteristics for use in development of cultivars with traits for improved N utilization.