Rooting pattern, nutrient uptake and yield of pearl millet ( Pennisetum typhoideum pers.) and cotton ( Gossypium herbaceum) as affected by nutrient availability from the surface and subsurface soil layers

• Published in: Field crops research Vol. 10; pp. 77 - 86
• Main Authors: Kapur, M.L., Sekhon, G.S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 1985
• ISSN: 0378-4290; 1872-6852
• DOI: 10.1016/0378-4290(85)90007-3

In a field study, the effects of different levels of nutrient availability in surface and subsurface layers of a Typic Ustipsamment soil were studied on the rooting pattern, nutrient uptake and yield of pearl millet and cotton. Variations in nutrient availability were created by mixing N, P and K fertilizers in different soil layers of 0–15, 15–30 and 30–45 cm depth. For a valid comparison, the soils in the untreated plots were disturbed similarly. Test crops were planted after the fertility gradients were stabilized by growing a non-experimental crop of wheat. The roots of both tested crops penetrated deeper and proliferated in a better manner when the depth to which the soil was disturbed by mixing was increased. The roots also tendend to concentrate in soil layers with higher fertility levels. Fertilizer application at the surface increased the root weight without appreciably affecting the distribution pattern. The nutrient uptake and yield of crops were maximum in soils having a fertile layer at a depth of 15–30 cm followed by 30–45 cm and 0–15 cm. However, surface application of fertilizers to the current crop masked the effect of high soil fertility in the subsurface layers. In pearl millet, which has a fibrous root system, the dry weight of roots in the 0–15 cm soil layer were significantly correlated with the grain yield or the nutrient uptake, while for cotton the correlation was with the weight of secondary and tertiary roots in the 0–15 and 15–30 cm layers.