The Recovery of 15N-labelled Fertilizer Applied to Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.)

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) represents an interesting crop for fibre production, which recently has been proved to be a good source of biomass for cellulose pulp, to be used in the paper industry in Mediterranean countries. The remaining part of the plant, rich of cellulose and hemicellulose, may be a source for the production of bio-ethanol of second generation. The climatic conditions of Mediterranean environment allow this tropical crop to produce seeds (Foti at al., 1998). Recently, the response of the crop to N fertilizer and to the water availability has been investigated (Patanè et al., 2007), but in order to determine the correct crop nitrogen fertilization, a clearer understanding of the uptake of the applied N and its storage in the various plant organs is necessary. On this basis a field experiment was carried out in order to study the destiny of the nitrogen from mineral fertilizer on kenaf under different water levels and nitrogen doses by means of15N labelled nitrogen application