Root growth in field-grown winter wheat: Some effects of soil conditions, season and genotype

Hodgkinson, Laura; Dodd, Ian C.; Binley, Andrew; Ashton, R. W.; White, Ronald P.; Watts, C. W.; Whalley, W. R.

doi:10.1016/j.eja.2017.09.014

Cited by 72 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 42 publications

(77 reference statements)

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“…In agreement with our prediction, the rooting profiles observed in this study were quite similar to those that have been observed in the field, where the majority of the roots (>50%) are located in the upper (e.g., 0-25 cm) soil layer under both control and water stress conditions [soybean (Dwyer et al, 1988;Kirkham et al, 1998;Benjamin and Nielsen, 2006;Ordonez et al, 2018)], maize (Dwyer et al, 1988;Kirkham et al, 1998;Ordonez et al, 2018;Zhang et al, 2018), field pea (Cutforth et al, 2013), canola (Cutforth et al, 2013), wheat (White and Kirkegaard, 2010;Cutforth et al, 2013;Kang et al, 2014;Wang et al, 2014;Guo et al, 2016;Hodgkinson et al, 2017), and barley (Dwyer et al, 1988)]. Growth medium also strongly affected root DM distribution by depth, with a higher fraction of root DM distributed in the deeper soil layers in the 0% FS growth medium treatment.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Effects of Growth Medium and Water Stress on Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] Growth, Soil Water Extraction and Rooting Profiles by Depth in 1-m Rooting Columns

Gebre

Earl

2020

Front. Plant Sci.

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The pattern of soil water availability in frequently watered small pots is different from field environments. In small pots, volumetric soil water content (VSWC) is relatively high throughout the rooting zone due to a lack of suction to remove water from large and midsize capillaries. This necessitates the use of growing media with large pore space to avoid anaerobic conditions and so prohibits the use of field soil (FS) in small pots. We hypothesized that in 1-m rooting columns, the 0.01-MPa gravitational potential difference between top and bottom may permit the use of lightly-amended FS as a growing medium and provide for realistic VSWC and rooting profiles by depth. This study aimed to investigate the effects of amending a typical sand-based potting mix with different proportions of FS on soybean growth [dry matter (DM) accumulation], water use, VSWC and rooting profiles by depth under control and water stress conditions, in 1-m rooting columns (polyvinyl chloride tubes having an inside diameter of 10 cm and length of 1 m). We tested three growth media (0, 50, and 67% FS mixes), watered daily to either 100% of the maximum soil water holding capacity (SWHC; control) or 75% SWHC (stress). VSWC was calculated from time-domain reflectometry measurements. Compared to all growth media, the 67% FS mix resulted in the highest DM accumulation, water use, water use efficiency (WUE), and also produced realistic VSWC and rooting profiles by depth similar to those reported in the literature under field conditions. Compared to the control, the water stress treatment reduced shoot DM by 24%, root DM by 13%, whole-plant DM by 22%, and water use by 25%, but increased root-to-shoot DM ratio by 18% and WUE by 6%. Of the three growth media tested, the 67% FS mix was the most suitable growth medium for controlled environment phenotyping studies of root functional traits affecting drought tolerance in soybean. This study provides novel phenotyping tools to select for root function and yield formation traits that could increase soybean yield under soil water deficit conditions.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Effects of Growth Medium and Water Stress on Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] Growth, Soil Water Extraction and Rooting Profiles by Depth in 1-m Rooting Columns

Gebre

Earl

2020

Front. Plant Sci.

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“…We found that most wheat roots colonized macropores in the compacted subsoil used in our experiment. This is consistent with field studies reporting that at depth (below 0.6 m), wheat roots are predominantly found in macropores (Hodgkinson et al, ; White & Kirkegaard, ). A study by White and Kirkegaard () found that approximately 50% of root material was found in large pores or cracks at a depth of 0.3 m, increasing to 100% of the root material found in pores below 1 m. In the loose soil, roots did not tend to follow pores but grew across them without any deflection.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…The consequence of this is that at relatively shallow depths, for example 0.5 m, penetration resistance can exceed 2.5 MPa, the value at which the elongation of roots by soil deformation is severely restricted (Bengough & Mullins, ). Previous measurements in the field from which the experimental soil was collected reported penetration resistance increasing dramatically with depth before any soil drying by roots had occurred (Hodgkinson et al, ). Thus, the loose subsoil used in this experiment represents the top soil in the field, and the compact subsoil represents subsoils below 0.5 m (Table ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ehlers, Köpke, Hesse, and Böhm (1983) reported that oat roots were able to exploit earthworm channels present in a no-tillage system. Wheat roots have been observed to grow in pores created by previous crop roots, earthworm channels, or cracks in the compacted subsoil layer (Barraclough & Weir, 1988;Hodgkinson et al, 2017;White & Kirkegaard, 2010). Experiments described by Stirzaker, Passioura, and Wilms (1996) suggested that few, large pores were not a favourable environment for roots, although they did find that barley plants grew better in a network of narrow biopores made by lucerne and ryegrass.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Soil strength influences wheat root interactions with soil macropores

Atkinson

Hawkesford

Whalley

et al. 2019

Plant Cell & Environment

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Deep rooting is critical for access to water and nutrients found in subsoil. However, damage to soil structure and the natural increase in soil strength with depth, often impedes root penetration. Evidence suggests that roots use macropores (soil cavities greater than 75 μm) to bypass strong soil layers. If roots have to exploit structures, a key trait conferring deep rooting will be the ability to locate existing pore networks; a trait called trematotropism. In this study, artificial macropores were created in repacked soil columns at bulk densities of 1.6 g cm−3 and 1.2 g cm−3, representing compact and loose soil. Near isogenic lines of wheat, Rht‐B1a and Rht‐B1c, were planted and root–macropore interactions were visualized and quantified using X‐ray computed tomography. In compact soil, 68.8% of root–macropore interactions resulted in pore colonization, compared with 12.5% in loose soil. Changes in root growth trajectory following pore interaction were also quantified, with 21.0% of roots changing direction (±3°) in loose soil compared with 76.0% in compact soil. These results indicate that colonization of macropores is an important strategy of wheat roots in compacted subsoil. Management practices to reduce subsoil compaction and encourage macropore formation could offer significant advantage in helping wheat roots penetrate deeper into subsoil.

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“…The direction and extent of shift in soil N cycling could occur via two fundamental ways. Firstly, fertilization increases soil N availability and subsequently crop C return ( Hodgkinson et al, 2017 ; Hirte et al, 2018 ), which might improve soil N retention. Secondly, fertilization changes the rate of microbial transformation of N which controls retention ( Mooshammer et al, 2014 ) and loss of N from soil ( Kuypers et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synthetic Fertilizer Increases Denitrifier Abundance and Depletes Subsoil Total N in a Long-Term Fertilization Experiment

Wang

et al. 2020

Front. Microbiol.

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Chronic synthetic nitrogen (N) application can result in a significant accumulation of nitrate in the subsoil, which could alter subsoil N cycle and subsequently affect subsoil N levels. To understand how elemental interactions affect the cycle and storage of subsoil N, we examined the soils receiving no fertilizer control (CK), 30-year applications of synthetic fertilizer (CF), and CF plus organic manure (CF + OM). The N cycling microbial groups and activity were investigated through analyzing abundance of bacteria, nitrifiers and denitrifiers, potential nitrification (PNA) and denitrification (DEA) rates in the topsoil (0–20 cm) and subsoil depths (20–80 cm). Compared with the CK, the CF application increased subsoil nitrate but reduced or did not change subsoil microbial biomass N and total N. Corresponding to the increased nitrate, the abundances of denitrifiers increased in the CF subsoils. By contrast, the abundances of nitrifiers increased in the CF topsoil. Significant correlation between the abundances of nitrifiers and soil PNA was found in the topsoil, while significant correlation was also found in the subsoil between the abundances of nirS - and/or nirK -type denitrifiers and DEA. These results suggest that the depleted or less changed subsoil total N by CF application might be partly related to the enriched denitrifiers groups and the related potential activity. The contrasting responses of nitrifiers and denitrifiers in the CF subsoil indicate a decoupling of both processes. Our findings highlight that the leached nitrate by synthetic fertilizer addition not only occurs as an environmental risk causing groundwater contamination but may also alter the subsoil N cycle through the denitrifier groups.

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Root growth in field-grown winter wheat: Some effects of soil conditions, season and genotype

Cited by 72 publications

References 42 publications

Effects of Growth Medium and Water Stress on Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] Growth, Soil Water Extraction and Rooting Profiles by Depth in 1-m Rooting Columns

Effects of Growth Medium and Water Stress on Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] Growth, Soil Water Extraction and Rooting Profiles by Depth in 1-m Rooting Columns

Soil strength influences wheat root interactions with soil macropores

Synthetic Fertilizer Increases Denitrifier Abundance and Depletes Subsoil Total N in a Long-Term Fertilization Experiment

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