Net photosynthetic rate (PN) was high in genotypes with 'C' genome both in the nucleus and cytoplasm. This may be attributed to the co-ordinated manner of acting of both genome sources. Leaf mass per area (LMA) and chlorophyll content increased with leaf nitrogen (N) content but did not show any correlation with PN. The factors which affected PN had the same effect on photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency (pNUE). Thus, differential allocation of N to the various components influences plant pNUE which is not significantly affected by genome constitution. and A. Anand, K. Suresh, T. V. R. Nair.