Root interactions of plants

Loehwing, W. F.

doi:10.1007/bf02872308

Cited by 51 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 178 publications

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“…Root exudates appear to mediate host recognition in some vascular plant root parasites (17)(18)(19)(20)(21), and there are inconclusive indications that root exudates are involved in "soil sickness" (e.g., refs. [22][23][24][25][26][27]. Our work with Larrea may represent the strongest evidence to date for root-mediated allelopathy, and our results with Ambrosia strongly suggest that root-root detection and avoidance systems exist.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 84%

Root communication among desert shrubs.

Mahall

Callaway

1991

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

251

184

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Descriptive and experimental studies of desert shrub distributions have revealed important questions about the mechanisms by which plants interact. For example, do roots interact by mechanisms other than simple competition for limiting resources? We investigated this question using the desert shrubs Ambrosia dumosa and Larrea tridentata grown in chambers that allowed observation of roots during intraplant and intra-and interspecific interplant encounters. Two types of root "communication" were revealed. Ambrosia root systems appear to be capable of detecting and avoiding other Ambrosia root systems, whereas Larrea roots inhibit Larrea andAmbrosia roots in their vicinity.Horizontal distributions of desert plants have intrigued ecologists for many years and have been commonly interpreted in terms of competition, allelopathy, or protection (e.g., refs. 1-12). In the first experimental evaluation of such patterns Fonteyn and Mahall (11,12) found no evidence for intraspecific interference for water among Ambrosia dumosa Payne (Asteraceae) shrubs, which have a clumped distribution, but Ambrosia shrubs in this same population routinely interfered with water availability to Larrea tridentata Cov. (Zygophyllaceae) shrubs, relative to which Ambrosia shrubs are distributed randomly. Why, then, do Ambrosia shrubs not interfere for water with each other? This question cannot be answered by simply invoking competition for limiting resources. We investigated other postulated mechanisms that could answer this question using specially designed root observation chambers in the laboratory. Our results suggest the existence of an unexplored complexity of root-root interaction mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODSAmbrosia plants grown from seed and small Larrea plants collected from the field were planted in flat, rectangular chambers filled with fine sand and oriented at a 450 angle so that positively geotropic roots would grow down along Plexiglas viewing windows covered with removable, opaque shutters (Fig. 1). The chambers were placed in a bright, warm greenhouse and the sand in them was kept continually moist and flushed with one-eighth strength Hoagland's solution every 8-10 days. After a period of establishment and growth, pairs of chambers were connected together, so that roots of a "test" plant would grow into the rhizosphere of a "target" plant. Elongation rates of all test plant roots visible through the viewing windows were calculated from measurements of length (to an accuracy of 0.1 mm) made at recorded times every 2 days. Elongation rates of target plant roots were not monitored, because at times of contact many were reorienting at 90°and/or touching the sides or ends of the chambers. We used Ambrosia and Larrea for test plants and live Ambrosia and Larrea roots for targets. Inert physical barriers of braided dacron line were used for control targets. RESULTSRates of elongation of Ambrosia roots in the inert physical barrier control (PBC) experiments averaged 0.39 ± 0.10 mm/hr (mean ± standard deviation based on ...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 84%

Root communication among desert shrubs.

Mahall

Callaway

1991

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

251

184

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“…The German-American botanist W.F. Loehwing (1936) had presented a brief review concerning the injurious effects of one crop on another to the Sixth International Botanical Congress in Amsterdam, and then in 1937 he comprehensively reviewed the world literature on the root interactions of plants, including the realm of root excretions (Loehwing 1937). He concluded that "most of the older data ascribing soil sickness and plant injury to toxic root excretions now have been re-interpreted as the results of disturbed nitrogen nutrition rather than direct injury by toxins."…”

Section: Influences Overseasmentioning

confidence: 99%

The History of Allelopathy

2008

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All Rights ReservedNo part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the ISBN 978-1-4020-4092-4 (HB) A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.ISBN 978-1-4020-4093-1 (e-book)

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“…No significant loss of hme or soda occurred either from the herbage or the entire plants. The excretion of nitrogen and mineral elements by roots into the soil during maturation appears to be a relatively frequent phenomenon in herbaceous plants, and has been referred to by a number of investigators (38,39,40,41).…”

Section: Seasonal Chemical Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Underground Development and Reserves of Grasses a Review

Weinmann¹

1948

Grass and Forage Science

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The roots of plants are the least known, least understood and least appreciated part of the plant."-^\Veaver and Bruner (125).The underground parts of perennial grasses serve not only as anchorage and organs of absorption of water and nutrients, but also for the storage of reserves, and there exist significant interrelations between herbage growth and underground development. The aim of modem grassland husbandry is to produce and maintain maximum yields of high qiiality fodder. To achieve this, an imderstanding of the functions of the undergromid organs, their relations to the aerial parts, and their responses to environmental factors and cultviral treatments appears indispensable. Our knowledge on this subject is still fragmentary, and it is hoped that this reView of available evidence will stimulate further research on these matters. SEASONAL UNDERGROUND DEVELOPMENTOnly a limited amount of work has been undertaken regarding the seasonal development of the roots and other underground organs of grasses. According to Trowbridge and co-workers (1) the weight of the corms of Phleum pratense, growing under Missouri conditions, was lowest in spring, and increased rapidly to the early bloom stage and then more slowly to maturity. Brown (2), also working in Missouri, found that spring and autumn were the more favourable seasons for root and rhizome growth in Poa pratensis. Root growth was most active during early spring at mean temperatures below 60°F, whereas rhizomes developed most rapidly in late spring and early summer. Both roots and rhizomes usually lost weight during summer at mean temperatures near or above 80°F.In Germany, Remy (3) obtained evidence that in Dactylis glomerata, grown in the greenhouse, the weight of the root system increased from mid-summer to late autumn. The seasonal root development of the same species was studied at Aberystwyth by Stapledon and Milton (4), who found that in plants grown in the open, root development was progressive from April to September. Sturkie (5) found that the root-stocks of Sorghum halepense developed after the aerial parts had matured, and according to Sampson and McCarty (6), root growth in Stipa pulchra occurred in autumn and winter when herbage growth had practically ceased, SimUar observations were made by Weinmann (7) on Chloris gayanq,, Rhodes grass. 115

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Root interactions of plants

Cited by 51 publications

References 178 publications

Root communication among desert shrubs.

Root communication among desert shrubs.

The History of Allelopathy

Underground Development and Reserves of Grasses a Review

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