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Root Characteristics and Phosphorus Uptake of Maize Seedlings in a Bilayered Soil

Inst. of Plant Sci., Group of Agron. and Plant Breeding, Swiss Federal Inst. of Technol. (ETH), Universitätstrasse 2, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland

* Corresponding author (walter.richner{at}ipw.agrl.ethz.ch)

Received for publication January 5, 2001. Under temperate climates, no-tillage results in cooler and denser topsoils than conventional tillage (CT) and in surface accumulation of immobile nutrients. Hence, early growth and functioning of maize (Zea mays L.) roots may be adversely affected. These field conditions were simulated in a controlled environment system, allowing gradients in soil properties between topsoil (0–10 cm) and subsoil (10–50 cm). Combinations of topsoil temperature (Temp_top), bulk density (BD_top), and P concentration (P_top) were applied on maize seedlings grown until the three-leaf stage. Topsoil bulk density and Temp_top acted independently on shoot and root parameters but showed some interactions with P_top. An increase in BD_top caused a linear decrease in root length, root mass, and the root/shoot ratio; an increase in root diameters in both topsoil and subsoil; and a concentration of roots in the topsoil. This resulted in a greater contribution of the topsoil roots to the nutrient supply of the shoot, as shown by ¹⁵N labeling. Decreasing Temp_top reduced shoot and root growth to a similar extent. High P_top increased length, diameter, and topsoil fraction of roots, particularly at high BD_top. There was possibly a trade-off between the adverse effects of low Temp_top and the positive impacts of high P_top on root growth. Shoot P concentration (P_c) was increased by high P_top and, to a lesser degree, by increasing BD_top. The temperature of the topsoil had no effect on P_c. It is concluded that in dense, cool soils, particular attention needs to be paid to the P supply of maize seedlings.

Abbreviations: BD, soil bulk density • BD_top, topsoil bulk density • CT, conventional tillage • LA, leaf area • NT, no-tillage • P_c, phosphorus concentration in the shoot dry mass • PFUE, P fertilizer utilization efficiency • P_top, P concentration in the topsoil • RL_top, proportion of total root length observed in the topsoil • SDM, shoot dry mass • Temp_top, temperature of the topsoil • %N_top, relative contribution of N uptake from the upper root zone to the total shoot N content

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