The grain yield of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) increased over time through plant breeding, and preliminary research suggested that yield response to fertilizer differs in modern versus historical genotypes. However, this response is not universal. We hypothesize selection for yield may have unintentionally modified the dynamics of nutrient uptake and partitioning in the plant. Thus, our objectives were to identify the key shifts in crop phenotype, in above-ground biomass and in dynamics of nutrient uptake and partitioning during vegetative and reproductive phases in response to selection for yield and to in-furrow fertilizer. Field experiments were conducted in four Kansas environments in a factorial trial combining eight winter wheat varieties released between 1920 and 2016, and two fertilizer practices (control versus 112 kg ha−1 in-furrow 12-40-0-10-1). Grain yield and grain N-removal increased non-linearly with year of release (YOR), with greater increases between 1966 and 2000. In-furrow fertilizer increased yield in ~300 kg ha−1 with no variety x fertility interactions. Grain protein concentration (GNC) related negatively to yield, and the residuals of this relationship were unaffected by YOR. Yield increase in semi-dwarf varieties were associated with shorter vegetative period and longer grain filling period, and more kernels m−2 derived from more kernels head−1. Historical varieties were taller, had thinner stems, and allocated more biomass to the stem than semi-dwarf varieties. At grain filling and maturity, shoot biomass was similar among varieties but semi-dwarf varieties allocated more dry matter to the kernels, suggesting that increases in yield derived from greater harvest index (HI) rather than greater biomass. Whole plant nutrient concentration negatively related to whole plant biomass and increased over decades for N, P, and S and decreased for K. In-furrow fertilizer increased the concentration of all nutrients. Grain-N, P, K, and S uptake increased from historical to semi-dwarf varieties; thus, nutrient HI increased with YOR, with greater increases between 1966 and 2000. Nutrient HI decreased with in-furrow fertilizer as the fertilizer increased biomass allocation to the vegetative tissues more than to the grain. Nutrient allocation rate to the head related positively to whole plant uptake rate, and YOR increased the head allocation rate for N, K, and S. There were positive and significant relationships between NHI and the HI of P, K, and S. Whole plant N uptake and P, K, and S uptake were also positively related, with ratios of 9.2, 1.1, and 15.4 for N:P, N:K, and N:S. Direct selection for grain yield modified the dynamics of nutrient uptake and partitioning over time, with semi-dwarf varieties allocating more N, P, K, and S to the grain. The ability of modern varieties to allocate more biomass and nutrients to the grain, coupled to an early maturity and longer grain filling period, increased grain yield and grain N-removal over time. However, increases in yield were greater than those in N-removal, reducing GNC. In-furrow fertilizer increased grain yield, biomass, and grain N, P, K, S uptake; nonetheless, the lack of variety x fertility interaction suggested variety response to fertility was similar.

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Response from nitrogen and chloride fertilization was measured in field experiments on winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. Em. Thell. var. 'Stephens' and 'Yamhill') grown in western Oregon in an environment with a range of susceptibility to take-all root rot (Gaumannomyces graminis var. tritici Walker). Cropping sequences and expected disease severity considered in the study were: first year wheat after clover (low risk of severe take-all root rot: Nixon I experiment), second year wheat with high disease infection in the previous crop (high risk of severe take-all root rot: Keyt II experiment), second year wheat with low disease infection in the previous crop (moderate risk of severe take-all root rot: Nixon II and Coon experiment), third year wheat (high risk of severe take-all root rot: Jones experiment), fifth year wheat (high risk of severe take-all root rot: Keyt II experiment), and eighteenth year wheat (take-all decline established: the pathogen is present in the soil but does not cause damage, Evers experiment). Nitrogen treatments were applied at 0, 67, 134, and 202 kg/ha in all experiments where wheat followed wheat and at 0, 45, 90, and 134 kg/ha in the experiment where wheat followed clover. Chloride treatments were applied at 0, 45, and 90 kg/ha in all experiments and a rate of 134 kg C1/ha was also used on the Jones experiment. Nitrogen was predominantly supplied from urea while ammonium chloride supplied chloride and ammonium sulfate supplied the crop requirement for sulfur (about 20 kg/ha). Fertilizers were top-dressed in split application with chloride and sulfur containing fertilizers applied first (February) and urea applied later (March) in all experiments but those conducted in the Nixon farm where a single fertilizer was applied in March. Crop response was measured through the effects of N and c1 treatments on dry matter production, plant nitrogen content, plant nitrogen uptake and plant percent nitrogen recovery, as well as grain yield, yield components, grain nitrogen content, grain protein content, grain nitrogen uptake, and grain percent nitrogen recovery. The results of the study strongly indicated that take-all root rot was only a problem in the Jones, Keyt I, and Keyt II experiments and was most severe in third year wheat (Jones experiment). This also was the only experiment with significant (p = 0.05) response from rates of 202 kg N/ha. Nitrogen fertilization was the main factor that greatly influenced the levels of the variables studied while chloride fertilization generally did not have a significant (p = 0.05) influence. 134 kg N/ha was generally the rate accounting for the best levels of each variable studied in all experiments except in the Jones experiment as precised earlier. Crop response was also affected by a relatively long 'dry' period (April 20th to June 20th), particularly in the experiment where take-all root rot was a problem. Levels of the variables studied accounted for by the optimum rates of N were consistently higher in the experiments where take-all root rot was not a problem than where it was a problem by the following amounts: dry matter yields-17%, plant nitrogen contents-18%, plant nitrogen uptake levels-30%, plant nitrogen recoveries-28%, grain yields-22%, grain nitrogen contents-only 4%, grain protein contents-only 2%, grain nitrogen uptake levels-26%, grain nitrogen recoveries-18%, and spikes/m2-24%.