Root-soil contact of maize, as measured by a thin-section technique

Abstract

Whilst adverse effects of soil compaction on plant growth are well known, experimental evidence also suggests that a very loose soil can adversely affect crop growth. We tested the hypothesis that poor root-soil contact in a loose soil is partly responsible for the existence of an optimum in the response curve of crops to soil compaction. In a pot experiment with maize at restricted nitrogen supply, five levels of soil compaction were compared and the percentage root-soil contact was measured in three of these. At the highest soil porosity tested, shoot growth was slightly slower than that at intermediate soil porosity (...)