Worker Jr, G.F. and Ayers, R.S. and Karah, M.A. and Thomason, R.E. (1973) Effect of dense, stratified sandy soil on crop roots. Journal of Agricultural Science Cambridge, 81 (3). pp. 513-516.
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Abstract
Several species were grown on a stratified and mixed sandy soil in the Sahara sands of Libya. The depth of the stratified layer varied from 6 cm in uncultivated soils to 90 cm in soil which had been deep-ploughed. Root depth and growth were measured by excavating along a representative root at intervals until the crop was mature or until no further root penetration into the subsoil occurred. Trial plantings showed that none of the root systems of the species tested could penetrate the stratified layers to any important extent, even with the application of adequate water and fertilizer, although all the layers were sufficiently porous to allow surplus water to drain through them freely. However, a few roots of lucerne, Sudan grass, grain sorghum, and millet penetrated 2-3 cm into these layers, and many roots, especially of lucerne, grew into any natural cracks that occurred in these layers. If the compacted layer was loosened by cultivation, all the crops tested rooted normally in the loosened zone.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Author Affiliation: | Department of Agronomy and Range Science, California University, Davis, USA. |
| Subjects: | Plant Production Plant Protection Soil Science and Microbiology |
| Divisions: | General Other Crops |
| Depositing User: | Mr. SanatKumar Behera |
| Date Deposited: | 29 Jun 2012 08:06 |
| Last Modified: | 29 Jun 2012 08:07 |
| URI: | http://eprints.icrisat.ac.in/id/eprint/6363 |
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