Nitrogen (N) is most often a limiting factor in crop production. While legumes are able to meet a substantial proportion of their N demand from biological fixation, non-legumes depend mainly on fertilizer N. However, both crop types obtain a good part of their N from soil organic matter mineralization of which is highly dependent on plant itself. The studies reported herein aimed at elucidating mechanisms responsible for the differences in N acquisition by the two plant types. Since roots are the major instrument of N acquisition, their role in inducing the soil deliver N for plant...