Root development of vegetable crops

Greenwood, D. J.; Gerwitz, A.; Stone, D.A.; Barnes, Anthony

doi:10.1007/bf02374729

Cited by 139 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Generally, P acquisition by crop plants is accomplished by extending roots into soil. Crop plants of Alliaceae, such as Welsh onion, onion, Chinese chive, garlic, and leek, have a less welldeveloped root system than most other species (Greenwood et al 1982). Studies have shown that the inoculation of AM fungi improved P uptake and growth of Allium cepa (Mosse and Hayman 1971;Smith et al 1986), Allium fistulosum (Tawaraya et al 1999(Tawaraya et al , 2001, and Allium porrum (Hepper et al 1988;Stribley et al 1980) under the pot culture condition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can substantially reduce phosphate fertilizer application to Allium fistulosum L. and achieve marketable yield under field condition

2012

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The effects of inoculating arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi on the growth, phosphorus (P) uptake, and yield of Welsh onion (Allium fistulosum L.) were examined under the non-sterile field condition. Welsh onion was inoculated with the AM fungus, Glomus R-10, and grown in a glasshouse for 58 days. Non-inoculated plants were grown as control. Inoculated and non-inoculated seedlings were transplanted to a field with four available soil P levels (300, 600, 1,000, and 1,500 mg P 2 O 5 kg −1 soil) and grown for 109 days. AM fungus colonization, shoot P concentration, shoot dry weight, shoot length, and leaf sheath diameter were measured. Percentage AM fungus colonization of inoculated plants was 94% at transplant and ranged from 60% to 77% at harvest. Meanwhile, non-inoculated plants were colonized by indigenous AM fungi. Shoot length and leaf sheath diameter of inoculated plants were larger than those of noninoculated plants grown in soil containing 300 and 600 mg P 2 O 5 kg −1 soil. Shoot P content of inoculated plants was higher than that of non-inoculated plants grown in soil containing 300 and 600 mg P 2 O 5 kg −1 soil. Yield (shoot dry weight) was higher for non-inoculated plants grown in soil containing 1,000 and 1,500 mg P 2 O 5 kg −1 soil than for those grown in soil containing 300 and 600 mg P 2 O 5 kg −1 soil. Meanwhile, the yields of inoculated plants (200 g plant −1 ) grown in soils containing the four P levels were not significantly different. Yield of inoculated plants grown in soil containing 300 mg P 2 O 5 kg −1 soil was similar to that of non-inoculated plants grown in soil containing 1,000 mg P 2 O 5 kg −1 soil. The cost of AM fungal inoculum for inoculated plants was US$ 2,285 ha −1 and lower than the cost of superphosphate (US$ 5,659 ha −1 ) added to soil containing 1,000 mg P 2 O 5 kg −1 soil for non-inoculated plants. These results indicate that the inoculation of AM fungi can achieve marketable yield of A. fistulosum under the field condition with reduced application of P fertilizer.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can substantially reduce phosphate fertilizer application to Allium fistulosum L. and achieve marketable yield under field condition

2012

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“…Therefore, choosing crops with deep root systems is important for the possibility to utilise N retained from previous crops. Large differences in t he ability to take up N from deeper soil layers are found among vegetable crops (Burns, 1980;Greenwood et al, 1982;Thorup-Kristensen and Sørensen, 1999;Thorup-Kristensen, 2001). …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Utilising Differences in Rooting Depth to Design Vegetable Crop Rotations With High Nitrogen Use Efficiency (Nue)

Thorup‐Kristensen¹

2002

Acta Hortic.

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A number of methods involving plant or soil analysis or modelling have been developed to optimise N fertilization of vegetable crops. The methods aim at improving the NUE of each single crop, but do not really consider the crop rotation as such. Various measures can be used to increase the NUE of the crop rotation; measures that can be combined with the methods aimed at optimising NUE of each single crop.The aims of the paper are to discuss the methods for optimising NUE at the crop rotation level and to present examples of how this can be done. The main methods discussed are 1) how can crops with different rooting depth be optimally placed in a cropping sequence and 2) how can catch crops be introduced to optimise NUE.Results show that if N left in the soil after harvest on one crop is retained in the soil until spring, it will normally be found in deeper soil layers. Therefore rooting depth of the vegetable crops is important. It is illustrated that by placing deep-rooted crops in the crop rotation preferentially where much N was left in the soil in the previous year can strongly increase the utilisation of the N residues.It is also shown how catch crops c an be used to maintain a high NUE, especially in situations where the farmers choose to grow shallow-rooted vegetables even though much N may be available in deeper soil layers. INTRODUCTIONDuring the last decades a lot of research has been directed at optimising nitrogen fertiliser supply for vegetable crops. From the early goal of defining the economically optimum supply, much of the focus has changed to methods aiming at increasing the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in order to reduce nitrate leaching without hampering yield. It is clear from the results of this work, that optimum nitrogen supply is strongly variable. When an optimum N fertiliser rate is calculated from a number of experiments, it will cover experiments where less N was needed and other examples where the crops would have responded to even more fertiliser N. The attempts to improve the NUE of vegetable crops have included various approaches to take this variation into account.The work has included methods trying to measure differences in soil N availability supply, (e.g. the N min (Wehrmann et al., 1988) and KNS method) or nitrogen mineralisation index measurements. Others have tried to estimate crop nitrogen status using methods such as total N concentration and critical N concentration curves (Greenwood and Draycott, 1988), sap nitrate tests, leaf colour or reflectance to estimate crop N status. Models have been used to include both soil and plant parameters (Greenwood et al., 1996).Thus, a number of very different approaches and methods are in use, but common to them all is that they attempt to optimise the NUE of each single crop, rather than of the crop rotation. Whether mineral N is available in deeper soil layers which cannot be used by the crop, but which could have been used by another crop with a deeper root system is not considered. The fate of the nitrogen inevitably le...

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“…Researchers use a variety of methods (cores, bags, excavation) to collect and study plant roots (Greenwood et al 1982;Steen 1985;Reid et al 1993). Roots were assessed from traces on acetate sheets, by various line intercept methods, and via direct measurements.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These measurements are then used to estimate turnover, biomass, root length, distribution or density, and nutrition. Root distribution studies have been conducted on a variety of annual vegetables (Greenwood et al 1982). They used soil-coring techniques, water extraction, alcohol preservative, and line intersect method to determine root length.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring root length density and root biomass in asparagus(Asparagus officinalis)with soil cores

Drost¹,

Wilson²

2003

New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science

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Sampling date, soil depth, and sample location all significantly influenced asparagus fleshy and fibrous root biomass. Soil cores accurately estimated both total fleshy root length density and dry matter content when compared to the more time-consuming complete root excavation. Results can be used to improve crop management practices, predict root biomass, and increase our understanding of the dynamics of root development in asparagus.Keywords Asparagus officinalis; root distribution; root sampling; root dynamics Abstract Soil type, crop management practices, annual plant growth patterns, and seasonal changes in the soil environment all influence asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) roots. This study describes the dynamic changes in root growth that occur during the annual growth cycle of asparagus grown in two contrasting soil types and crop management systems. Root length density and biomass were estimated from soil cores (55 mm diam. × 0.2 m long) collected to 1 m in three locations adjacent to the row (0.15, 0.3, and 0.6 m from row centre). Samples were collected on six dates (early, or postharvest at early, mid, or late fern growth, and dormant period) between October 1999 and June 2000. Test sites varied with soil type (sandy loam or silt loam) and crop management system (normal 12-week harvest or extended 15-week harvest). Fleshy and fibrous roots were collected, root length density determined, and dry weights measured. Fleshy asparagus roots grew deeper in a sandy soil than in a silt soil, had higher dry matter content in silt than in sandy soil, and greater root length in a silt compared to a sandy soil. Fibrous root length density was greater during fern growth than during harvest, in a sandy versus a silt soil and at shallow versus deep sampling depths.

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Root development of vegetable crops

Cited by 139 publications

References 20 publications

Inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can substantially reduce phosphate fertilizer application to Allium fistulosum L. and achieve marketable yield under field condition

Inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can substantially reduce phosphate fertilizer application to Allium fistulosum L. and achieve marketable yield under field condition

Utilising Differences in Rooting Depth to Design Vegetable Crop Rotations With High Nitrogen Use Efficiency (Nue)

Monitoring root length density and root biomass in asparagus(Asparagus officinalis)with soil cores

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