Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

How do roots penetrate strong soil?

How do roots penetrate strong soil? The mechanical and physiological bases for root growth against high mechanical impedance are reviewed. The best estimates of maximum axial root growth pressure (σ max ) in completely impeded pea roots appear to be from 0.5 to 0.6 MPa, which results from a turgor pressure of about 0.8 MPa. When roots are incompletely impeded, a range of responses has been reported. Roots do not change elongation rate in a simple mechanical way in response to changes in mechanical impedance. Instead, ethylene might play a key role in mediating an increase in root diameter and a decrease in elongation rate. These changes persist for some hours or days after impedance is removed. Differences between species in their ability to penetrate strong soil layers are not related to differences in σ max , but appear to be due to differences in root diameter. In rice, differences between cultivars in the ability of their roots to penetrate strong wax layers are not related to their elongation rates through uniformly strong media. Differences between species or cultivars in their ability to penetrate strong layers may be due to differences in the tendency of roots to deflect or buckle when they grow from a weak to a strong environment. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Plant and Soil Springer Journals

How do roots penetrate strong soil?

Plant and Soil , Volume 255 (1) – Aug 1, 2003

Loading next page...
 
/lp/springer-journals/how-do-roots-penetrate-strong-soil-f6SQtr9JLP

References (93)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 by Kluwer Academic Publishers
Subject
Environment; Ecology; Plant Sciences; Plant Physiology; Soil Science & Conservation
ISSN
0032-079X
eISSN
1573-5036
DOI
10.1023/A:1026140122848
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The mechanical and physiological bases for root growth against high mechanical impedance are reviewed. The best estimates of maximum axial root growth pressure (σ max ) in completely impeded pea roots appear to be from 0.5 to 0.6 MPa, which results from a turgor pressure of about 0.8 MPa. When roots are incompletely impeded, a range of responses has been reported. Roots do not change elongation rate in a simple mechanical way in response to changes in mechanical impedance. Instead, ethylene might play a key role in mediating an increase in root diameter and a decrease in elongation rate. These changes persist for some hours or days after impedance is removed. Differences between species in their ability to penetrate strong soil layers are not related to differences in σ max , but appear to be due to differences in root diameter. In rice, differences between cultivars in the ability of their roots to penetrate strong wax layers are not related to their elongation rates through uniformly strong media. Differences between species or cultivars in their ability to penetrate strong layers may be due to differences in the tendency of roots to deflect or buckle when they grow from a weak to a strong environment.

Journal

Plant and SoilSpringer Journals

Published: Aug 1, 2003

There are no references for this article.