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Journal of Plant Nutrition
ISSN: 0190-4167 (Print) 1532-4087 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/lpla20
Nutrient use efficiency (NUE) for sustainable
wheat production: a review
Nazia Salim & Ali Raza
To cite this article: Nazia Salim & Ali Raza (2019): Nutrient use efficiency (NUE) for sustainable
wheat production: a review, Journal of Plant Nutrition
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/01904167.2019.1676907
Published online: 21 Oct 2019.
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Nutrient use efficiency (NUE) for sustainable wheat production:
a review
Nazia Salim
a
and Ali Raza
b
a
Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan;
b
Centre of Agricultural
Biochemistry and Biotechnology (CABB), University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
ABSTRACT
In the last five decades, nutrient applications to farmlands have signifi-
cantly improved crop yield and public awareness about nutrient use effi-
ciency (NUE). The crop production system is nutrient-dependent in
unfertile lands. The ideal management applications are used to enhance
the NUE i.e. application of nutrients at right place and time with right rate.
However, there must be a balance among the crop productivity and NUE.
The maximum NUE is always observed where nutrient supply is lowest.
The use of vital plant nutrients is significant for agricultural sustainability.
However, the application of essential nutrient is under the influence of
plant, climate, and economic conditions of farmers. In general agro-climatic
conditions, the crop has fertilizer or NUE below 50%. The lower NUE is dir-
ectly proportional to excess stability of nutrients, which may cause environ-
mental pollution. Enhancement in NUE is crucial in agro-economical point
of view. Improvement in plant nutrition e.g. P, N, and K, is the need of the
hour to achieve food and fiber. In this review, we focused on discussing
the significance of NUE and how NUE can be enhanced. There should be a
balance among optimum NUE and excellent crop production.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Received 2 September 2019
Accepted 26 September 2019
KEYWORDS
association mapping;
fertilizers; management
applications; nitrogen;
Triticum aestivum; nutrient
use efficiency;
potassium; phosphorus
Introduction
In the upcoming century, climate changes are predicted to occur that will create problems for
food security and crop production. The need of the time is to increase the productivity of arable
land utilizing fertilizer supplies for crop cultivation (Handmer and Dovers 2012; Solomon et al.
2007). Improvements in the availabilities of a nutrient that is deficient are needed in emerging
countries (Graham, Welch, and Bouis 2001; Graham 2007). However, these problems depict the
significance of plant nutrition in agriculture sustainability and also shed light towards the need
for NUE. The increasing demand for crop yield is critical in maintaining food safety (Cordell,
Drangert, and White 2009). Moreover, the soil of agricultural lands has insufficient essential
nutrients for plant yield (Lynch and Clair 2004). The improvement in yield is related to the use
of fertilizer. It is also reported that crop yield is directly associated with the application rate of
fertilizer. If the input of fertilizer is more than the crop requirement, it leads to a waste of fertil-
izer through runoff water and causes low NUE (Vitousek et al. 2009). Nevertheless, climate
change affects nutrient inputs and behavior through change in temperature, wind patterns, the
hydrological cycle, and sea level rise (Statham 2012; Raza et al. 2019a).
CONTACT Ali Raza alirazamughal143@gmail.com Centre of Agricultural Biochemistry and Biotechnology (CABB),
University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan; Nazia Salim naziasalimarid@gmail.com Department of Plant
Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/lpla.
ß2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
JOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION
https://doi.org/10.1080/01904167.2019.1676907
However, some agricultural lands are still highly deficient in nutrients and it severely affects
agricultural production. Improvement in NUE depends upon the management practices and
development of new approaches to overcome failure in production (McDonald et al. 2015). Ortiz-
Monasterio, Manske, and Van Ginkel (2001) defined that NUE is the production of plant per
unit of fertilizer/nutrient applied to the field. It consists of two constituents: first is the potential
of a plant to uptake nutrients by the root from the soil; second is the capability of the plant to
extract these nutrients into the grain, which is called as utilization efficiency (McDonald et al.
2013). Plant nutrition is a physiological activity in which plants suck and use the nutrients from
the soil. The plant uses these nutrients for its growth and developmental processes. This process
is called as plant nutrition while these nutrients are considered as plant nutrients. Therefore,
plant use only 60 nutrients among a total of 118 nutrients present in the soil.
Major fertilizer nutrient (N þP
2
O
5
þK
2
O) utilization is estimated at 162 million tonnes in
2009 and is forecast to reach at 186.6 million tonnes in 2015, and it would reach 199 million
tonnes at the end of 2019. Figure 1 showing the increasing trends of global demand for total fer-
tilizer nutrients from 2009 to 2019. In this review, we have discussed the past and present
advancement of NUE in wheat crop and in general with future perspective.
NUE in wheat
Wheat is a cereal crop, and it belongs to the family Poaceae, tribe Triticeae, and is considered to
be the first ever domesticated crop (Peleg et al. 2011; Raza et al. 2019b). The availability of
nutrients to the plant will depict its yield and growth rate. Moreover, the application of vital
nutrients in fertilizer form has positive impacts on the sustainable production of wheat
(Shaharoona et al. 2008). The application of fertilizers (NPK) is essential to restore the soil
nutrients and to reduce the yield gap (Brummer et al. 2011). Food demand is becoming a chal-
lenge for breeders (Glenn et al. 2008). This goal can be achieved by using crop management prac-
tices that provide sustainability by eliminating yield-limiting and yield-reducing factors (Galloway
et al. 2008; Hoang and Alauddin 2010). Best management practices (BMPs) are, application of
nutrient at the proper place, time and rate. Moreover, nutrient aid is applied to achieve sustain-
able crop yield (Bruulsema, Lemunyon, and Herz 2009; Roberts 2007). The demand for wheat
yield is growing every year because of increasing community and low yield per unit area. In
Pakistan, wheat yield is two times lower as compared with advanced countries, filling this gap is
a big challenge for farmers and scientists (Ali et al. 2008; Raza et al. 2019c). Wheat production
area by province is shown in Table 1, while wheat production in world-leading countries is given
in Table 2.
As reported in 2016–17, wheat was cultivated on an area of 9052 thousand hectares while in
last year an area of 9224 thousand hectares was cultivated. During 2016, the wheat yield was
Figure 1. Increasing trends of global nutrients (N þP
2
O
5
þK
2
O) consumption. Source: Source: FAO, (2016). World fertilizer trends
and outlook to 2019. http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5627e.pdf.
2 N. SALIM AND A. RAZA
probably at 25.75 million tons with an increase of 0.5%, as the yield of previous year was 25.633
million tons (Arshadullah et al. 2017). Wheat is an extensively grown crop in the World. The
response of wheat with a balanced proportion of N and P is very significant to enhance wheat
production (Colla et al. 2015; Vitousek et al. 2009). The applications of fertilizers contributed to
the rise in production and enhanced per hectare yield. Wheat contributes 40% to the world food
demand. It is also a significant part of proteins and carbohydrates intake (Ayala-Zavala et al.
2011). The need for wheat production will be increased to about 40% until 2030 (Dixon, Braun,
and Crouch 2009). To fulfill this demand, wheat production should be improved by about 20%
per year, but in the past, the increase in production was only 0.9% (Dixon et al. 2009). In
Pakistan, wheat production is low as compared to the food demand.
Nutrient (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) applications
Balanced nutrition helps the plant fight abiotic and biotic stresses (Shabala and Pottosin 2014).
There are various approaches to increase NUE. BMPs assist in enhancing the nutrient supply and
also expand the nutrient uptake efficiency. Furthermore, it enhance plant’s ability to uptake and
use nutrient efficiently from the soil (Ortiz-Monasterio et al. 1997; Ranjan et al. 2019). The pri-
mary purpose of this review is to study the efficient use of nutrients, especially N, P, and K. This
review will also address the genetic improvement of crops to control nutrient deficiencies and to
boost up NUE, grain yield and its quality.
In the last five decades, the use of fertilizer has increased at a much faster rate as compared to
plant yield (Hinsinger et al. 2011). However, the full utilization of P and N has improved but the
rate of nutrient application varies from region to region. A continuous increase in fertilizer
Table 1. The wheat area by the province in Pakistan (marketing year 2018/19).
Province Area (million hectares) Percentage of the total area
Punjab 6.62 73.9
Sindh 1.18 13.2
KPK 0.76 8.5
Baluchistan 0.39 4.4
Total 8.95 100
Source. USDA-FAS, GAIN (Global Agricultural Information Network) report (PK-1810), 2019. Pakistan Grain and Feed Annual.
Table 2. Wheat production in world-leading producers
a
(million tonnes).
Average 5 years 2017 2018 estimate 2019 forecast Change 2019 over 2018%
European union 150.3 150.2 137.5 149.0 8.4
China (Mainland) 129.2 133.0 128.0 129.0 0.8
India 94.6 98.5 99.7 99.0 0.7
Russian Federation 70.5 85.9 72.1 79.0 9.6
United states of America 54.6 47.4 51.3 52.0 1.4
Canada 30.2 30.0 31.8 33.0 3.9
Pakistan 25.8 26.7 25.5 24.5 3.9
Ukraine 25.5 26.2 24.6 26.5 7.8
Australia 23.3 21.2 17.3 24.0 38.7
Turkey 20.7 21.5 20.0 21.0 5.0
Argentina 16.3 18.5 19.5 19.0 2.4
Kazakhstan 14.1 14.8 13.9 14.5 4.0
Iran Islamic Republic of 11.8 12.5 13.4 13.4 0.0
Egypt 9.2 8.8 8.8 9.0 2.3
Uzbekistan 6.6 6.1 6.0 6.5 8.3
Other countries 59.6 56.4 59.0 58.0 1.7
World 742.3 759.4 728.3 757.4 4.0
a
The countries are classified according to their five-year average production.
Source: FAO-UN 2019. GIEWS (Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture) Crop Prospects and
Food Situation. http://www.fao.org/3/ca3696en/ca3696en.pdf.
JOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION 3
application was reported in Asia. The application rate of N is faster as compared to other
nutrients. The NUE declined in Europe, Asia, and America (Ott and Rechberger 2012; Vitousek
et al. 2009). Fertilization may be a vital and dynamic proportion of the crop growing technology.
It has the maximum impact on the economic part of the grain wheat yield (Ivanova et al. 2007).
Manures has an essential role in enhanced crop production. The nutrients which mostly affect
the yield and property of wheat are N and P. If sufficient quantity of N fertilizer is not applied to
the crop, the yield and properties/nature of wheat will reduce. Contrarily, if quantity exceeds, its
efficiency in wheat will decrease and will create environment pollution (Dogan and Bilgili 2010;
Liu and Shi 2013). The supply of sufficient N boosts the protein content in vegetative parts as
well as in storage tissues (Sanchez-Bragado, Serret, and Araus 2017). P is the 2nd most crucial
element for better crop production (Haileselassie et al. 2014). An adequate supply of P increases
many features of crop physiology e.g. photosynthesis, flowering, and development of seed (Jeong
et al. 2017; Ziadi et al. 2008).
The use of necessary components (NPK) in a balanced proportion is vital for crop production
in Pakistan. As repeated cropping system of high yielding wheat cultivars causes rapid exhaustion
of vital nutrients from soil, which ultimately cause poor soil fertility. The increase in production
by enhancing soil fertility is a major challenge. If the nutrients deplete after the crop harvest, the
soil fertility will go down and will create environmental stress in soil. This scenario has an impact
on crop production and many crops producing areas (Atiq et al. 2017; Hussain, et al. 2002;
Leghari et al. 2016). In Pakistan, fertilizer application is mostly concerned with the application of
N, which in turn cause the deficiency of other nutrients, mainly P
2
O
5,
which affects yield. The
most crucial component of modern technologies of crop production is using fertilizer in a
balanced way (Zheng et al. 2017).
The most yield-limiting element is the availability of nutrients. It is a common practice to
apply overdose of chemical fertilizer to obtain high yields in a wheat–maize rotation system, and
it has created a lot of environmental concerns (Vitousek et al. 2009). In order to boost crop yield
and maintain soil fertility, environmental stress should be reduced. Many prolonged experiments
had been performed by researchers to investigate the impacts of fertilizers on yield and soil fertil-
ity around the world (Berzsenyi, Gy}
orffy, and Lap 2000; Zhang et al. 2009; Duncan et al 2018;
G€
ulser et al. 2019).
The current pattern of NUE and the implication in wheat breeding
Nutrients demand is increasing in wheat with the passage of time i.e. N, P, and K. However, in
2015, the world demand for NPK was 186,625 (thousands of tonnes), and it was expected to
increase to 199,006 (thousands of tonnes) in 2019 (FAO, 2016). Therefore, it is need of the hour
to make certain managements practices for the use of major (NPK) fertilizers in future. The
increasing pattern of world demand for NPK is shown in Table 3. However, Figure 2 shows the
regional and sub-regional potential of major nutrients (N, P
2
O
5
, and K
2
O) around the world in
2019; 2019: the final year of the forecast period.
In wheat production, the application of NPK fertilizers plays a central role. Application of fer-
tilizer (NPK) in appropriate proportion and on the right time had a significant impact on yield.
There exists a great variation to intake and use NPK between the plant species and even within
Table 3. World demand for fertilizer nutrients, (2015–2019) (Thousand tonnes).
Year 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Nitrogen (N) 112 539 113 955 115 498 116 905 118 222
Phosphate (P
2
O
5
) 42 113 42 865 43 785 44 652 45 527
Potash (K
2
O) 31 973 32 802 33 629 34 452 35 257
Total (N þP
2
O
5
þK
2
O) 186 625 189 622 192 912 196 009 199 006
Source: FAO, (2016). World fertilizer trends and outlook to 2019. http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5627e.pdf.
4 N. SALIM AND A. RAZA
the same species (Ali et al. 2014; Gill et al. 1994). N has a dynamic role in the growth process
and is an essential component of protein, nucleic acids, and chlorophyll (Jabbar et al. 2009). It
contributes almost 1.5 to 5% to the dry mass of higher plants. Deficiency of P is mostly reported
in the soil of Pakistan and application of phosphate is essential for the crop yield (Memon 1996).
P triggers seed formation while its shortage affects thousand grain weight (Iqbal and Chauhan
2003). K plays a vital part in biochemical processes e.g. developing tolerance against abiotic and
biotic stresses (Shabala and Pottosin 2014).
Due to the surface runoff and leaching, the efficiency of fertilizer has reduced.
Management practices should be maintained to recover the efficiency of fertilizers and main-
tain crop production. If the NUE is low, it causes an alarming situation for resource conser-
vation. Hence, economic part of crop production and NUE should be improved on an urgent
basis for agriculture sustainability (Sharma and Bali 2017; Zoubek and Nygren 2008).
Similarly, N deficient crops may reduce the chlorophyll content of leaf, photosynthesis, and
leaf area (Monneveux et al. 2005). Recent studies showed that NUE is positively correlated
with intake and utilization efficiency of N (Barraclough et al. 2010; Haile et al. 2012; Yin,
Dai, and He 2018). N application is also positively correlated with growth (Mandal,
Chaudhry, and Sinha 1992), and yield parameters (Kirrilov and Pavlov 1989). When crops are
grown in suitable environmental conditions and under good management practices, they show
full genetic yield potential (Conry 1995).
N significantly affected the growth attributes, i.e. plant height, tillers number, number of green
leaves, and dry-matter stock. Application of N fertilizer enhances plant height and leaf size, which
results in accumulation of higher photo absorption, thus increasing more storage of dry matter
(Mandal et al. 1992). In recent studies, it is observed that in well-fertilized plots, the number of
green leaves enhanced due to availability of nutrients and in turn improved carbohydrates trans-
location from source to sink (growing points) (Singh and Agarwal 2001). N significantly affects
the grain per spike due to the critical role of N in flowering, fruiting, and seed development
(Guo, Slafer, and Schnurbusch 2016; Verma and Raha 2011). N application improves protein con-
tent, which helps increasing the grain weight (Warraich et al. 2002). Application of N affects sev-
eral parameters such as 1000–grain weight (Kirrilov and Pavlov 1989) and a number of tillers;
therefore; as a result, higher grain yields are achieved.
Figure 2. Regional and sub-regional nutrient balances in 2019 around the world. Source: Source: FAO, (2016). World fertilizer
trends and outlook to 2019. http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5627e.pdf.
JOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION 5
The implication of nitrogen (N)
N utilization efficiency can be enhanced by management techniques in wheat. In recent studies, it
is described that the utilization of N at a rate of 160–240 kg ha
1
increased the weight by 3%
(Crook and Ennos 1995). If N is applied more, it will increase the length of basal internodes and
dry weight. The deficiency of N will minimize the possibility of lodging due to the depletion in
weight of shoot (Berry et al. 2002). N deficiency is found among all the plants and is mostly used
for agronomic crops. Using a high amount of N without adding an appropriate dose of K in soil
has additionally enhanced K deficiency. N improves the plant height, dry matter, protein content,
and yield (Bahmanyar and Ranjbar 2008). It also increases plant nutrition, protein content, and
crop quality in plants (Wang, Vinocur, and Altman 2003). Therefore, K deficiency in soil
decreases the production of wheat (McCauley, Jones, and Jacobsen 2009). K notably aid plants to
uptake P and N and is stored in wheat straws and grains (Saifullah et al. 2002). The utilization of
N and K had synergistic consequences on grain quality and yield (Pettigrew 2008). Chaturvedi
(2006) experimented with different concentrations of N on wheat yield and nutrient intake. The
doses applied were 0, 25, 50, 75, 100, and 125 kg/ha. It was concluded that the N application at
the amount of 125 kg/ha increased the dry-matter accumulation, tillers number and number of
green leaves, plant height, straw yields, the number of grains per spike, thousand-grain weight
and uptakes of NPK.
N utilization efficiency is the capacity of the plant to absorb N from the soil and use for its
growth process (Hirel and Lemaire 2006). N is the most critical nutrient among all the nutrients
used by the plants (Barker and Bryson 2016). N has a distinctive value in plant nutrition because
of its crucial role in the metabolic system (Ahanger and Agarwal 2017). At a global level, almost
120 million metric tons of N is used as fertilizer annually (FAOSTAT 2014). Nowadays, 90% of
N fertilizer is consumed by wheat, maize and rice among all other cereals. Overuse of fertilizers
causes environmental issues. However, the use efficiency of applied N should be monitored for
sustainable agricultural production.
The implication of potassium (K)
K is an important macro-nutrient for plant growth, and it contributes to almost 10% of the total
dry weight of plant (Adams and Shin 2014). Till now potash has received less attention and is
being ignored. To increase the uptake of N in plants, they require a large amount of K. Potash
also regulates various biochemical and physiological mechanisms (Maathuis 2009; Wang et al.
2013). Potash directly influences photosynthesis due to its role in ATP formation. It also acts as
osmo-regulator by regulating the movement of CO
2
and water through stomata (Gorcek and
Erdal 2015; Wallace 2001). K helps plant to overcome stress conditions, maintain physiological
processes like turgidity, enzyme activation, photosynthates translocation, etc. Dwarf wheat vari-
eties were introduced in the era of the Green Revolution. Dwarf wheat verities showed response
to fertilizers application. However, this response emphasized the significant usage of different fer-
tilizers for high production in wheat. In the past, remarkable research work has been conducted
regarding the use of macro and micro-nutrients to obtain higher yield. Nutrients are utilized to
improve the shelf life, plant growth, yield and resistance to stresses (Khan et al. 2015). Plants
require a large quantity of K for their proper growth. Uptake of K also regulates the uptake of
other nutrients. It also regulates numerous biochemical processes. K significantly improves the
plant resistance to stress conditions. K is used as a vital element for several physiological proc-
esses like photosynthesis, enzymes activation, translocation of photosynthates and, maintenance
of turgidity (Mengel et al. 2001; Pettigrew 2008). Deficiency of K decreases the seed size in wheat.
It severely affects the time of grain filling in wheat (Ashraf et al. 2011). In Pakistani soils, K is
present in insoluble mineral form, and a minor quantity is available to plant. Therefore, the
6 N. SALIM AND A. RAZA
Pakistani soil is considered to be critically deficient to K (Bajwa and Rehman, 1996). In Pakistan,
K is used in meager quantity as fertilizer.
The utilization of potash is very limited in Pakistan. Its application rate is 0.8 kg/ha, while
15 kg/ha is the average use of potash worldwide (Wakeel, Rehman, and Magen 2017). Due to
continuous cultivation of the same crop, K level is getting low day after day. In this situation, the
available form of potash is not sufficient to fulfill the demand of the crop. Therefore, commercial
fertilizer is used as a supplement to fulfill the requirement of the crop. Almost 4 kg ha
1
of K is
leached down with rainwater, and the same amount is removed after harvest (Wallace 2001).
However, some amount of applied potash is fixed in soil (Bajwa and Rehman, 1996). K signifi-
cantly affects the spikes growth by maintaining turgor pressure in cells (Bly and Woodard 2003).
K utilization efficiency improves the grain number per spike (Tripathi et al. 2003). Nevertheless,
the application of N and K also improve grain production in wheat (Gul et al. 2011). N and K
have a tremendous effect on wheat growth while applied together. The combined result of N and
K application increases 1000 grain weight, and tiller number (Bundy and Andraski 2004). N
enhances vegetative growth of wheat, while K positively affects the root growth (Liangwei et al.
2004; Tiwari, Sengar, and Agarwal 2002).
So research experiments indicated that nutrient efficient cultivars of wheat should be used to
maintain grain yield with low use of fertilizer (Barraclough 1986). K has an essential role in agri-
culture for sustainable crop production (Anser Ali and Hussain 2012). K plays a considerable
part in enzyme activation (Hussain et al. 1997). The implication of K has a significant impact on
plant growth (ur Rehman and Ishaque 2011), as well as grain production in cereals (Ahmad et al.
2009). In cereals like maize and wheat, K regulates the reaction of photosynthesis (Dibb and
Thompson 1985). Research work reported by Pettigrew (2008) and ur Rehman and Ishaque
(2011) showed that the utilization of K in cereals enhances its use efficiency as compared to con-
trol conditions. P has a central role in plant physiology. It gives strength to straw and improves
fruit production. Its application makes resistance to stresses in the plant. It also improves the
photosynthesis rate (Singh and Sale 2000; Weber and Bar-Even 2019). Moreover, in dryland, fer-
tilizer significantly affects the yield attributes (Li et al. 2001).
The implication of phosphorus (P)
P is a major macro-nutrient, which is essential for plants. After N, P is considered as the essential
nutrient. It contributes about 0.2% of the dry weight (Theodorou and Plaxton 1993). P is consid-
ered a significant fertilizer for wheat production. Almost 90% of soil in Pakistan is inadequate in
available P (Ahmad, Saleem, and Twyford 1992; Delgado et al. 2002). Among all the nutrients, P
is the most crucial nutrient for wheat growth, but P is very expensive fertilizer and farmers could
not afford it. It plays a significant function in different physiological mechanisms, such as deposi-
tory of energy and its movement, cell division, photosynthesis and respiration, etc. Essential
energy-rich phosphate compounds which regulate different biochemical reactions within the plant
cell include adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine diphosphate (ADP). However, the role
of P in plants is not restricted to various metabolic reactions. The structure of biochemical com-
ponents of living things, specifically nucleotides, nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), phospholipids
and phosphoproteins, is not possible without P. P deficiency is a yield-reducing factor. In wheat
P deficiency reduces the number of tillers and leaf area by producing smaller and less amount of
leaves (Sato and Jiang 1996). Thus calcareous soil suffers from P deficiency. As 90% wheat culti-
vated area is highly deficient in P (Ahmad et al. 1992); however, it makes the application of P
imperious to the soil for sustainable production (Alam, Shah, and Akhter 2003). In general, P
level in the soil varies from area to area. Agronomic analysis of the soil determined its value
from 100 to 1500 mg kg
1
.
JOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION 7
P enhances many physiological processes and also improves respiration, cell enlargement, and
cell division. P deficiency in wheat causes a reduction in plant leaf size by developing smaller and
less quantity of leaves as P causes early maturity in wheat (Hussain, Khan, and Ahmad 2008). K
significantly affected the quantity of spikes meter
2
in wheat (Tao et al. 2006). The more the
number of tillers, the superior will be the stand of the crop, which eventually enhances the yield
(Jamwal and Bhagat 2004). Phosphatic fertilizer application notably enhanced the number of
grains per spike (Reuter et al. 1995). The primary reason for the rise in grain production with dif-
ferent levels of phosphatic fertilizer might be the higher 1000-grain weight, which may be due to
an increased speed of photosynthesis and superior crop health which primarily increased the final
grain production. Plants showed normal growth with the application of P and resulted in
improved agronomic traits which lead to improved grain production (Iqbal et al. 2003).
In recent studies, some research work has been done about the measures to improve the P
uptake and utilization efficiency. These approaches belong to both conventional breeding and
molecular plant breeding. The root system has important role in nutrient uptake. The root struc-
ture is affected by P deficiency. It also affects the root growth and its spreading pattern as well
(Lynch and Brown 2001). Arbuscular mycorrhiza also helps the roots to uptake nutrients (Bucher
2007). Kaleem et al. (2009) evaluated the response of Inqlab-91 (wheat variety) to P fertilizer. The
total yield (3557 kg/ha) was reported with the N and P fertilizers were used in a 1:1 ratio. Both
fertilizers were applied as 128–128 kg ha
1
. This application rate also increases the grains spike
1
,
the highest 1000-grain weight and yield. This experiment concluded that the application of P
with N in 1:1 ratio significantly affect the physiological traits which ultimately affect the yield in
a positive sense which helps to achieve the maximum quantity of grain per spike and 1000-grain
weight. The roots structure has a vital role in nutrient uptake. If the root hairs are in contact
with fertilizer, it significantly enhances the nutrient uptake (Warncke and Barber 1974; Yao and
Barber 1986). There are some factors like application method and application time of fertilizer
which affect the fertilizers efficiency. However, the fertilizer recommendation should be crop and
site-specific (Ahmad et al. 1992). The roots of wheat assimilate P from soil solution (Pigna
et al. 2010).
Rahim, Ranjha, and Waraich (2010) conducted a comprehensive study on the effect of P on
the wheat and its P use efficiency. Grain production was notably increased. Bashir et al. (2015)
concluded from his studies P application on wheat at the rate of 100 kg/ha tremendously affect
the wheat production. It will improve biological yield, plant height, tiller number, P efficiency,
harvest index, etc. Ali et al. (2014) carried out a study on the method of foliar application to
increase NUE. The yield was improved with the application of Nutri-Phite. P is critically import-
ant for metabolic processes. Balance and appropriate application of fertilizers on rice and wheat
not only improve fertilizer uptake but also improve the overall agronomic production (Rehman
et al. 2006).
Crosstalk between the implications of NPK
Naseem et al. (2015) reported the effect of P on different varieties of wheat. The grain yield was
significantly improved with the Kapplication. It was reported that the different level of K
improved wheat grain production. The highest grain and straw yield was noticed with the utiliza-
tion of N and K, 214 kg/ha and 94.8 kg/ha, respectively. K and N notably enhanced the grain yield
and water use efficiency (WUE) (Bukhsh et al. 2010). Todeschini et al. (2016) reported the effects
of NUE on twelve different wheat genotypes. N was utilized at a dose of 0, 80, 160, and 240 kg/
ha. The four wheat genotype, TBIO Iguac¸u, TBIO Itaipu, Mirante, and BRS Parrudo were
reported as efficient cultivars in N use. Duncan et al. (2018) demonstrated the combined effect of
NPK application as fertilizer. Balance application of NPK positively correlates with the grain
yield. It was also reported that NPK significantly affects the root structure, which improves NUE.
8 N. SALIM AND A. RAZA
The interaction amongst the N þPþK increases the root length and biomass. They also improve
the root hair growth, which directly affects the NUE.
The wheat production was remarkably enhanced with the application of NPK (Baque et al.
2006; El-Abady et al. 2009). Rahimi (2012) concluded from his experiment that K considerably
improves the yield attributes in wheat crop with foliar application. Rahimi (2012) and
Tababtabaei and Ranjbar (2012) indicated from their findings that K has a tremendous effect on
yield. Rasul (2016) reported from his findings the marvelous impact of P on the wheat yield. The
outcomes showed a significant difference in the application of P. However, the protein content,
chlorophyll content, was also positively affected. Different agricultural research work has been
done to evaluate NUE in wheat. Applied fertilizers were recommended as, P (10%), N (50%), and
K (40%). The nutrient efficient plants have high nutrient absorption, and they also reduce the
agricultural cost (Baligar, Fageria, and He 2001). N is crucial for wheat yield (Pan et al. 2006).
Moreover, N and its use efficiency have a fundamental and ultimate part of sustainable yield
production (Asplund, Bergkvist, and Weih 2014). NUE is the ratio among the nutrient supplied
and grain yield obtained (Cormier et al. 2013; Dai et al. 2013; Moll, Kamprath, and Jackson
1982). Although, overuse of N cause environmental problems (Cui et al. 2014). This problem is
addressed through different research experiments by different scientist to keep agricultural sus-
tainability (Kaneko et al. 2010). While the combined application of P and K encouraged the
NUE. As already reported, P affects the characteristics of the root, e.g. biomass, length and width
(Fageria and Baligar 1999; Shenoy and Kalagudi 2005; Vance et al. 2003). However, P also distrib-
utes N in below and above ground tissues (Miller and Cramer 2005).
Hussain et al. (2002) performed a comprehensive experiment to evaluate the results of various
levels of NPK on three varieties of wheat. It was asserted that the various levels of NPK applica-
tion, significantly affect the varieties of wheat. The maximum yield was noticed with the NPK
dose of 105-75-75 kg/ha. Laghari et al. (2010) reported regarding the NPK application rate of
120-60-60 kg/ha that produces a maximum number of tillers, grains spike, spike length, grain
yield, biological yield, dry matter, harvested index, growth rate, and uptake of NPK.
Optimization of NUE
The fertilizer and agriculture industry helps BMPs as the nutrient application should be at the
right time, rate and place for the attainment of optimum crop production and nutrient efficiency
(Kumar et al. 2018). Nutrients should be applied at right rate to fulfill the nutrition need of the
plant. We should keep in mind a pre-planned goal of crop yield before defining nutrient applica-
tion rate. Some crops are season specific while some are location-specific, depending on manage-
ment practices, cultivar and climate etc. Therefore, nutrient application should be in line with the
established yield goal. If the application is not at the right rate, it will negatively affect the NUE
and reduce the crop yield (Fixen et al. 2015; Kumar et al. 2018).
The plant can avail and uptake nutrient at an optimum level if nutrient application was carried
out at right time. The nutrient must coordinate with the demand of the crop, and it can analyze
the nutrient loss in soil (Singh et al. 2018). Nutrient placement can determine the nutrients
dynamic in the soil. Specifically, the uptake of less mobile nutrients can be improved by the right
placement of nutrients. If nutrients like K and P are placed near the root zone, their uptake level
will consequently increase (de Willigen et al. 2018; Nkebiwe et al. 2016). Plant nutrients work
properly by interacting synergistically with other nutrients as compared to applied in isolation.
However, the interaction between nutrients is crucial because the shortage of one nutrient may
limit the intake of another nutrient. Many studies reported that interaction among N with P and
K significantly affects crop production (Meena, Maurya, and Meena 2015; Prasad 1996; Shabbir
et al. 2016).
JOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION 9
Calculation of NUE
NUE is well described as the capacity of any plant to uptake/absorb nutrient from the soil and its
efficient translocation for sustainable production of biomass.
Fageria, Santos, and Baligar (1997) defined the following formulae for calculations:
NUE % ¼Total N uptake ðkg=haÞin fertilized plot Total N uptake ðkg=haÞin control
Nutrient dose applied ðkg=haÞ100
Genomic approaches to study NUE
Association mapping (AM)
AM or disequilibrium mapping is a technique of the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that takes
benefit of linkage disequilibrium (LD) to link genotypes with phenotypes. AM is used to find loci
which are involved in complex trait inheritance. The main aim of AM is to study the connection
between phenotypes and genotypes of individual samples present in data. AM also provides infor-
mation about genetic polymorphism and phenotypic diversity (Breseghello and Sorrells 2006).
Moreover, AM has two types; first is the candidate gene, and the second is genome-wide associ-
ation mapping studies (GWAS). GWAS used to study the genetic difference in the total genome
while in candidate gene association mapping, we can study the role of the single gene that
Figure 3. Step-wise procedure of AM for specific loci.
10 N. SALIM AND A. RAZA
controls phenotypic variation (Risch and Merikangas 1996). However, both approaches are useful,
but the choice of approach for analysis depends upon the interest of the researcher. LD is a
method of AM use to recognize markers in a whole natural population. It is also used to study
the differences in allelic frequency between distinct individual sets and the trait of interest
(Ochieng, Muigai, and Ude 2007). However, LD is a suitable method in plant breeding while
alleles, which are related to specific traits, are familiarized in particular genotypes (Yu and
Buckler 2006).
Approaches of AM
Approaches used for association mapping related to the procedure selected. AM analysis is
given as
Selection of natural population
Reporting the phenotypic data
Molecular markers for mapping population
Calculation of the amount of LD for a chromosome
Analysis of kinship and structure
Assessment of association among genotype and phenotype
Lastly, data formed from population structures and LD were used to evaluate the association
among genotypic and phenotypic data to mark the location of QTLs for a specific trait
(Al-Maskri, Sajjad, and Khan 2012). However, a step-wise procedure of AM for specific loci is
represented in Figure 3, and this procedure can vary based on population structures and method
selected for association study.
AM in wheat
In recent studies, those quantitative traits in wheat were reported that are complicated; these
traits are counting yield components, quality, biotic and abiotic stress resistance-related attributes.
The improvement in yield is the principal aim in bread wheat all over the world (Peleg et al.
2011). The information about the genome of yield-related traits is crucial for yield improvement.
Currently, many outcomes have been demonstrated for the yield and yield-associated traits
improvement in wheat. There are specific loci in the genome which are directly relevant to yield.
In AM, family-based QTLs mapping was used in the mapping populations resulting from DH,
F2, NILs and RILs. These genomic areas related to agronomic traits and marked with molecular
markers i.e. thousand kernel weight, yield/production of grain, spikes per plant, length of spikes,
grains per spike, spikelet’s per spike and plant height (Marza et al. 2006; Quarrie 2006). However,
the analysis of the whole genome was challenging in a family-based mapping (Breseghello and
Sorrells 2006). This challenge can be resolved by using a method of association mapping. They
studied the association of milling quality and grain size of 96 wheat accessions by using
SSR markers.
Conclusion and future outlooks
A balanced application of nutrients is a basic requirement to increase crop productivity. NUE is
gaining importance day by day because farmers are doing struggle to achieve high yield and
maintain their profit as fertilizer prices are rising. Irrigation pattern and environmental stresses
also create an impact on the uptake of available nutrients from the soil. Crop rotation could
enhance the feasibility of dry land agriculture in semiarid zones and help to increase the crop
JOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION 11
production. Improvement in NUE is vital to address in agriculture-based countries. It is also a
worthy goal for fertilizer industries. They have made a considerable improvement in nutrients
application methods in developing as well as developed countries. There are many tools of AM,
which can be used to fulfill the task of NUE. One of the considerable approaches is to develop
nutrient efficient cultivars. The implication of biofertilizers is a promising method for future sus-
tainable farming systems; by keeping in mind the rapidly decreasing available P and the need to
efficiently use already available N. Thus, biofertilizers are considered as a promising type of fertil-
izers for sustainable crop production. Moreover, we should be careful that the tools of NUE do
not come at the economic viability and the expense of the farmer. Cautious nutrient supply at
the right time, right rate and right place will have tremendous effect on wheat yield. Different
management practices have different impacts on the final crop yield and NUE. Identifying the
most important limiting management factors in farmers land is fundamental to increase the yield
and NUE. Furthermore, our task should be to decrease the nutrient application rate and enhance
crop yield. The demand for food production has double worldwide. This increase in demand is
directly related to a seven-fold enhancement in the application of fertilizers. In the past few deca-
des, many studies were reported for the improvement of NUE and to reduce the excessive appli-
cation of fertilizers, while maintaining sustainable crop production. The purpose of this review
was to discuss efficient nutrient uptake in wheat varieties to decrease the cost of fertilizer input
and to achieve optimum yield. It is concluded that the marker-trait associations for root related
traits should be considered. The selection of wheat germplasm and to mark the genetic loci
related to NUE will help the breeder to develop such cultivar, which performs better under nutrient-
deficient conditions to overcome world food insecurity.
Acknowledgements
Authors are grateful to all the researchers whose contributions have been cited in this review paper, which have
helped us to prepare this review paper.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
ORCID
Nazia Salim http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2768-9448
Ali Raza http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5120-2791
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