Abstract
A 2-year field experiment was conducted in 2015 and 2016 by using artificial root pruning to simulate mechanical root injury caused by agricultural machinery components and reveal its effects on maize growth and yield. Quasi-level orthogonal experimental design was employed to create orthogonal tables with four factors of interest, namely, pruning time (jointing stage, JS; big trumpet period, BTP), pruning method (unilateral pruning, UNP; bilateral pruning, BIP), pruning distance (5, 10, and 15 cm) and pruning depth (5, 10, and 15 cm). Results revealed that 1) maize growth was inhibited at the beginning of root pruning; 2) stem diameter (SD) and plant height (PHE) were smaller than those of the control check (CK) but exceeded the latter after 20 d of root pruning in JS; 3) SD and PHE were always smaller than those of the CK under root pruning in BTP; 4) T8 (BTP, BIP, 5 cm of pruning distance and 15 cm of pruning depth) can reach to a significant level (p < 0.01). The vertical distribution and total dry weight (TDW) of maize root in soil were affected by different root pruning treatments. When pruning in JS, the root ratio in 0-10 cm soil was 11.6% in T2 (JS, UNP, a pruning distance of 10 cm and pruning depth of 10 cm). When pruning in BTP, the root ratio of 10-20 cm soil layer increased by 15%. However, the TDW of maize decreased, the largest of which occurred in T8 at 53%. With the exception of a 0.43% increase in T3 (JS, UNP, 15 cm of pruning distance and 15 cm of pruning depth), the maize yield of all other treatments decreased compared with that of CK, and the largest reduction was in T8 at up to 19.1%. This finding suggests that a small pruning distance and a large pruning depth greatly influence the growth and yield of maize before and during pruning in BTP. The influence of BIP is greater than that of UNP. These results provide evidence for the effects of mechanical root injury on maize growth and yield and serve as a reference for the selection of mechanical topdressing parameters. Keywords: maize, root pruning, growth, grain yield, mechanical operation-induced injury DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20211406.5079 Citation: Hu H, Gao J F, Wu J, Mao Y J, Lu J Z, Li Q T. Effects of mechanical operation-induced root injury on maize growth and yield. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2021; 14(6): 47–53.
Highlights
The crop root system plays some critical roles in support, fixation, absorption, composition, and storage during plant growth, and which is the absorptive and metabolic organ of a plant, and displays sensitive reactions to external environmental conditions[1,2,3,4,5,6]
The effects of root pruning in jointing stage (JS) on stem diameter (SD) and plant height (PHE) decreases gradually with maize growth, and the plants recover or exceed normal growth speed after some time
A small pruning distance and a large pruning depth lead to small SD and PHE during root pruning in big trumpet period (BTP)
Summary
The crop root system plays some critical roles in support, fixation, absorption, composition, and storage during plant growth, and which is the absorptive and metabolic organ of a plant, and displays sensitive reactions to external environmental conditions[1,2,3,4,5,6]. The growth situation of the root system could be a direct indicator reflecting general information on crop growth and yield[8,9]. Changes in root morphology and structure will lead to changes in the biomass accumulation of the overground part of crop and the utilization efficiency of water and fertilizers, altering the crop yield[10,11]. Physical injury, soil movement around the root system, gnawing animals, and root diseases are the main reasons for root morphological and structural changes. Physical injury and the soil movement around the root system are the most important factors[12]. Deep loosening, earth-raising, weeding and other intertillage practices will cause physical injury of roots and soil movement around the root system, which directly or indirectly change the root morphology and structure
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