TY  - JOUR
AU  - Zhou, Yang
AU  - Zhang, Yongqiao
AU  - Lyu, Xinhua
AU  - Cui, Jiaming
AU  - Li, Shuang
AU  - Wu, Pengjia
AU  - Lin, Xiang
AU  - Wang, Dong
PY  - 2026
TI  - Layered nitrogen application increases post-anthesis nutrient accumulation and grain yield of wheat by coordinating root morphology and nutrient transporter gene expression
JO  - The Crop Journal
SN  - 2095-5421
SP  - 997
EP  - 1007
VL  - 14
IS  - 3
AB  - Layered nitrogen (N) application to wheat is intended to avert nutrient retention in the topsoil, which limits deep root development and grain yield. In a two-year field experiment on the Loess Plateau comparing two N treatments: 240 kg N ha−1 applied at the 8-cm soil depth or in a 1:2:1 ratio to the 8-, 16-, and 24-cm soil layers, the layered treatment increased grain yield, post-anthesis N accumulation, phosphorus (P) accumulation, root biomass, and soil organic carbon and available P in the 8−24 cm layers. It also upregulated N and P transporter genes in roots across different soil layers. Layered N application optimized the vertical nutrient distribution in the wheat root zone, induced adaptive root architectural development, and activated the transcriptional regulatory network of nutrient uptake, which peomoted post-anthesis nutrient assimilation and ultimately improving grain yield.
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cj.2025.12.016
DO  - 10.1016/j.cj.2025.12.016