Effects of soil physical conditions on root growth and water use of barley grown in containers

Abstract

The results of an experiment to study the effects of subsoil loosening on root growth and water use of barley plants grown in 1.0-m-deep, 65-mm-diameter plastic tubes are reported. Changes in the dry bulk density (1280–1530 kg m −3) of the 0.2-m-deep soil layer immediately below the plough layer hand disproportionate effects on rates of root growth, and following this on crop water use and dry matter yield. Increasing the number of large pores in the sieved sandy loam soil at a depth of between 0.2 and 0.4 m allowed roots to proliferate easily and at the same time to extract the water held at relatively low suctions. When no extra water was added, these plants came under water stress sooner than those grown in containers with relatively compacteds ubsoil. Reduced rates of root growth meant that water was made available over a longer period of time. The variable and unpredictable yield responses of crops to subsoil loosening reported in the literature must be owing in part to the patterns of rainfall distribution during the season in relation to root growth and the development stage of the crop. Under certain conditions subsoil loosening will increase crop water stress and reduce yield. The validity of the techniques used for observing root growth was supported by the linear ( β=1.09) relationship obtained at the end of the experiment between the length of root at the soil/plastic interface and the corresponding number of root ends observed at the centre of the soil core ( r 2=70%, n=216), although there was still a considerable degree of scatter in the position of individual points.