Nitrogen application save phosphorus deficiency in maize inbred line QXH0121

Nitrogen and phosphorus dual stress significantly inhibited the maize growth and decreased the accumulation of nitrogen and phosphorus in plants. The co-application of nitrogen and phosphorus most significantly increased the biomass compared to the dual deficiency stress, and to our surprise, the repair effect of nitrogen application alone was basically similar to the repair effect of simultaneous application of nitrogen and phosphorus reflected in biomass as well as nitrogen and phosphorus content. Transcriptomic analysis showed that DEGs related to phosphorus transporters in N versus NP group and N versus P group were all up-regulated. These all confirm that the nitrogen application alone mitigated damages caused by low nitrogen and phosphorus dual stress comparable to that of nitrogen and phosphorus co-application. These indicate that the presence of nitrogen is conducive to the accumulation and transportation of phosphorus.