Abstract
The effect of neighbouring plants on crop root system architecture may directly interfere with water and nutrient acquisition, yet this important and interesting aspect of competition remains poorly understood. Here, the effect of the weed blackgrass (Alopecurus myosuroides Huds.) on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) roots was tested, since a low density of this species (25 plants m-2) can lead to a 10% decrease in wheat yield and herbicide resistance is problematic. We used a simplified growth system based on gelled medium, to grow wheat alongside a neighbour, either another wheat plant, a blackgrass or Brachypodium dystachion individual (a model grass). A detailed analysis of wheat seminal root system architecture showed that the presence of a neighbour principally affected the root length, rather than number or diameter under a high nutrient regime. In particular, the length of first order lateral roots decreased significantly in the presence of blackgrass and Brachypodium. However, this effect was not noted when wheat plants were grown in low nutrient conditions. This suggests that wheat may be less sensitive to the presence of blackgrass when grown in low nutrient conditions. In addition, nutrient availability to the neighbour did not modulate the neighbour effect on wheat root architecture.
Highlights
Plants seldom grow in isolation and diverse ecosystems can have greater productivity than monocultures especially when abiotic factors are not limiting primary productivity [1,2]
25 blackgrass individuals per m2 can lower wheat yield by 10% [8] suggesting that weed plants have a strong effect on crop growth and yet the mechanism underlying this strong effect is not understood
In high nutrients, wheat seminal roots are shorter in the presence of a wheat neighbour
Summary
Plants seldom grow in isolation and diverse ecosystems can have greater productivity than monocultures especially when abiotic factors are not limiting primary productivity [1,2]. While the outcome of these plant to plant interactions can be beneficial (e.g., facilitation due to nutrient release) or neutral, in agro-ecosystems detrimental effects (e.g., competition, parasitism) [6,7] can cause severe yield loss. (blackgrass) is a major weed for winter cereals in Europe, that can cause substantial yield loss for wheat [8,9] and oilseed rape (Brassica napus)[10]. Blackgrass has become more abundant in agro-ecosystems since 1867 [11] and more potent against wheat as high nutrient conditions have been favoured [12]. Investigating the mechanism of the blackgrass effect or varietal differences in field is problematic because of environmental variations and far no in vitro method has been developed
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