Root-soil contact of maize, as measured by a thin-section technique: III. Effects on shoot growth, nitrate and water uptake efficiency

Whilst adverse effects of soil compaction on plant growth are well known, experimental evidence also suggests that a very loose soil can adversely affect crop growth. We tested the hypothesis that poor root-soil contact in a loose soil is partly responsible for the existence of an optimum in the response curve of crops to soil compaction. In a pot experiment with maize at restricted nitrogen supply, five levels of soil compaction were compared and the percentage root-soil contact was measured in three of these. At the highest soil porosity tested, shoot growth was slightly slower than that at intermediate soil porosity. In the more compacted soil, shoot growth clearly lagged behind. Shoot fresh weight per unit root length decreased with increasing soil porosity over the whole range tested. In the most compacted soil, roots were mainly restricted to the upper zones of the pot and total root length was smaller than in less compacted soil. Water and nitrate uptake were highest at the intermediate pore volume and slightly lower at the highest soil porosity. Water absorption and nitrate uptake per unit root length decreased from compacted to loose soil with decreasing root-soil contact. This effect was more than proportional with the percentage root-soil contact and was in line with a correction value based on a transport model.