The effects of differentiated water supply after anthesis and nitrogen fertilization on δ15N of wheat grain

The δ¹⁵N signature of plants integrates various processes in soil and plant. In this study, the effect of different water regimes applied during the period of grain growth of winter wheat on grain δ¹⁵N was examined in a 4‐year field experiment. The treatments comprised water shortage (S), an ample water supply (W), and rain‐fed crop (R). Zero fertilization (N0) and 200 kg N.ha^?1 in mineral fertilizer (N1) treatments were studied. The grain ¹⁵N was determined during grain growth and at maturity. The water regime, nitrogen application and year had a significant effect on mature grain δ¹⁵N (p < 0.001). Water and nitrogen explained 54.6% of the variability of δ¹⁵N in the experiment, the year accounted for 10.7% and the interactions for another 19.6% of the total variability. The analysis of non‐mature grain δ¹⁵N showed significant effects of N and year but not of water. Nitrogen fertilization reduced the δ¹⁵N of mature grain in years by 0.7–6.3‰ in comparison with N0 plants; the reduction was more pronounced under stress (average reduction by 4.1‰) than under rain‐fed (2.4‰) and ample water supply (2.2‰). Water stress decreased the grain δ¹⁵N in fertilized wheat, by 0.1–2.1‰ and 0.6–3.6‰ in experimental years, on average by 1.30‰ and 1.79‰ in comparison with the R and W water supply, respectively. The effect of water supply was not significant in non‐fertilized wheat. A significant negative linear relationship between grain N concentration and δ¹⁵N in maturity or during the grain growth (R² = 0.83, R² = 0.76, respectively) was found. The observed sources of grain δ¹⁵N variability should be taken into consideration when analyzing and interpreting the data on the δ¹⁵N signature of plant material from field conditions. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.