Greenhouse Study of Maize Root Distribution in Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Soils and its Relationship with Crop Yield

The current study was conducted to investigate the effect of homogeneous and heterogeneous soils on root distribution and yield of maize under irrigation without stress and with moisture stress under greenhouse conditions.

In this study, two soil types of clay (soil A) and silt loam (soil B) were used to prepare homogeneous substrates as single-layer (AA and BB) and heterogeneous substrates as double-layer (AB and BA) inside cylindrical PVC pipes with a length of 80 cm in the greenhouse. This research was performed as a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. So that the type of soil in the pots with 4 levels (AA, BB, AB and BA) and irrigation conditions with 2 levels (without moisture stress and with moisture stress) were the factors of this experiment. At the end of the growth period, the roots were photographed to evaluate the pixel density of the roots.

The results of the present study showed that in drought stress, maize root in homogeneous silt loam soil (BB) was less dense than that in clay homogeneous soil (AA)(15.0 g and 27.6 g, respectively),but in conditions without water stress, its growth was significantly improved (28.7 g). Also, in BA and AB pots, a better substrate for root growth was provided in irrigation conditions with stress and without stress, respectively. For all pots, there was a significant correlation between corn weight and lower half of the root dry weight at the 5% probability level.