Root distribution and its relations with soil chemical attributes and yield of banana under fertigation with and without soil covering

Eugênio Ferreira Coelho,Diego Magalhães Melo,Marcos Souza Campos,Marcelo Rocha Dos Santos,Elves De Almeida Souza

doi:10.4025/actasciagron.v44i1.53296

Abstract

This study evaluated the effects of fertigation, banana biomass as a soil covering under drip and micro-sprinkler irrigation system on the root growth and distribution and their relations with chemical soil attributes, soil water availability, and productivity. This work was conducted in a field with banana 2.5 × 2.0 m spacing and irrigated every two days using a drip and micro-sprinkler irrigation system during the first crop cycle. The experiment followed a random block design with six treatments, two irrigation systems, two fertilization methods of fertigation and side-dressing, as well as two cultivation types with and without soil covering. Roots were collected from each plot using soil monoliths and digitalization allowed the determination of root length density, and diameter at several distances from the plant and at different soil depths. Total root length, density, and distribution by diameter were evaluated based on the treatment interactions with respect to the distance from the plant and the soil depth. Our results showed that the combination of the irrigation system, fertilizer application and soil covering influenced root growth and distribution. In addition, we found that the better soil conditions for root growth were in drip or micro-sprinkler systems with fertigation and cultivated biomass covering.

Highlights

This study aimed to evaluate the effects on the growth and root distribution of ‘BRS Princesa’ banana in terms of fertigation, banana biomass as a soil covering, as well as drip and micro-sprinkler irrigation systems relative to the chemical soil attributes, soil water availability, and productivity
The analysis of variance detected effect (p < 0.05) of the irrigation system with and without fertigation, both, with and without soil covering on total root length (TRL) and root length density (RLD)
TRL and RLD means in the root zone of plants irrigated by micro -sprinklers composed one cluster that differentiated from the ones of treatment with drip irrigation

Summary

Introduction

Drought periods have been increasing in frequency and duration, which has negatively affected irrigated agriculture worldwide. It has become necessary to address water resource scarcity by using irrigation water more efficiently. The root system is directly involved in the uptake of water and nutrients from the soil (Kitomi, Itoh, & Uga, 2018) as well as anchoring the plant (Wu, Ma, & Whalen, 2018). Knowing root distribution in the soil profile contributes to defining the best strategies for applying water and fertilizers to improve irrigation and fertilization practices, especially in systems that utilize drip irrigation, fertigation (Donato et al, 2010), and soil water content sensors (Coelho, Silva, & Miranda, 2010)

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Conclusion