ARS | Publication request: FARMING SYSTEM EFFECTS ON SPATIAL, TEMPORAL, AND MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CORN ROOTS

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 4, 1996
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: During three consecutive growing seasons, high soil strength and bulk density limited subsurface corn root growth in a fine sand in Minnesota. Tillage and irrigation practices can alter root growth and distribution. Three farming systems (non-chiseled, irrigated corn/soybean rotation; non-c corn) were evaluated in the field to determine their effects on corn root morphology and distribution. Roots were washed from soil cores and scanne to produce images for root length and width analyses. Chiseling induced almost twice as much corn root length (104 vs 55 km m**-3) in the row than in the non-chiseled treatments, and produced more roots deeper in the profile. Conversely, approximately twice as much corn root length (57 vs 24 km m**-3) was measured in mid-row areas of non-chiseled corn versus the chiseled treatment. The distribution of root diameters suggest a larger portion of fine roots in the chiseled versus non-chiseled treatments.