ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to establish the analytical conditions for determining
15N abundance ratio in plant leaves by the isotope ratio mass spectrometer.
Effect of some factors related to the equipment performance such as tin capsule
cleani...
ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to establish the analytical conditions for determining
15N abundance ratio in plant leaves by the isotope ratio mass spectrometer.
Effect of some factors related to the equipment performance such as tin capsule
cleaning, ion source tunning, sample size and K-factor for total N analysis by
the elemental analyzer were investigated using the standard reagents (urea and
acetanilide), and citrus leaves. In addition, urea uptake by citrus leaves was
measured with 8 and 20-month old leaves were dipped in 15N labelled urea
solution(1.776 atom excess %) mixed with 0.05% surfactant and harvested 1, 2,
3, 10 and 17 days after 15N labelled urea application.
1. The analytical conditions for determining 15N isotope ratio in plant leaves
a. N-peak was observed from the blank sample of tin capsule which is not
cleaned. However, N-peak disappeared after cleaning tin capsules with acetone.
b. K-factor for total N determination by the elemental aniyzer was
evaluated in terms of the instrument stability. The result showed that the
coefficient of variation for K-factor was low enough to obtain a good
reproducibility.
c. The optimal amount of standard reagents, (urea and acetanilide) and leaf
sample for N analysis was in the range of 1 to 3 mg.
d. The optimal N amount for 15N isotope ratio analysis was in the range of
0.359 to 0.424 mg.
2. The urea uptake by citrus leaves
a. The amount of N absorbed by citrus leaves was increased by elevating the
applied urea concentrations and had a maximum at 0.8-1.2% of urea
concentrations.
b. N amount contained in the leaves increased until 2 days after foliar
application but thereafter decreased because N-translocation to the shoot became
much more than N-uptake from leaf surface.
c. N absorption by 8-month-old leaves was higher than 20-month-old leaves.