Physiological and genetic aspects of nitrogen metabolism in the pea

The effect of a type of nitrogen nutrition (utilization of a complete nutrient mixture and a mixture without nitrogen) on the interaction between carbon and nitrogen metabolism was studied in isogenic lines and varieties of the pea using both vegetation and field experiments. Genes that determine the leaf type in the pea were shown to affect both leaf formation and a whole complex of quantitative features. This allows us to use these genes in the search for genotypes that assimilate a maximal amount of a nutrient element per unit of a used fertilizer and produce a maximal biomass. © 1997 MANK Hayka/Interperiodica Publishing.