Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-m8s7h Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-19T06:43:30.672Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Use of water by six grass species. 2. Root distribution and use of soil water

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

E. A. Garwood  and
J. Sinclair
E. A. Garwood
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research InstituteHurley, Maidenhead, Berks
J. Sinclair
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research InstituteHurley, Maidenhead, Berks
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The use of soil water by six grasses (perennial ryegrass, cocksfoot, timothy, rough stalked meadow grass (RSMG), tall fescue and Italian ryegrass) was measured over 2 years. The swards were cut either at 3-week (C3) or 6-week (C6) intervals. In both years the maximum soil water deficit attained under C6 was greater than under C3. Following several of the cuts from C6 there was a marked, although temporary, reduction in the rate of water uptake.

An extended dry period in the second harvest year revealed substantial differences in the total water used and in the patterns of uptake from the soil profile by the grasses. Effective depths of utilization of water under treatment C6 were: RSMG, 40 cm; timothy, 70 cm; cocksfoot, 70 cm; perennial ryegrass, 80 cm; tall fescue > 100 cm. This order of depth of utilization corresponded with the order of yields obtained during drought conditions. An examination of the root systems of four grasses also showed that, particularly under treatment C6, roots of tall fescue were more numerous at depth than those of timothy, cocksfoot or perennial ryegrass, and under this treatment it showed its greatest tolerance to dry conditions. Drought tolerance in these grasses appears largely determined by the volume of soil exploited by the roots for water.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 93 , Issue 1 , August 1979 , pp. 25 - 35
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1979

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bell, J. P. (1969). A new design principle for neutron soil moisture gauges. The ‘Wallingford’ neutron probe. Soil Science 108, 160–164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bennett, O. L. & Doss, B. D. (1960). Effect of soil moisture level on root distribution of cool-season forage species. Agronomy Journal 52, 204–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clement, C. R. (1966). A simple and reliable tension table. Journal of Soil Science 17, 133–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coupland, R. T. & Johnson, R. E. (1965). Rooting characteristics of native grassland species in Saskatchewan. Journal of Ecology 53, 475–507.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garwood, E. A. (1967). Some effects of soil water conditions and soil temperature on the roots of grasses. I. The effect of irrigation on the weight of root material under various swards. Journal of the British Grassland Society 22, 176–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garwood, E. A. (1974). Use of water by grassland and response to partial irrigation. Proceedings of the 12th International Grassland Congress, Moscow, vol. 2, pp. 640–647.Google Scholar
Garwood, E. A. & Clement, C. R. (1966). A movable and transparent rainproof cover for experimental plots. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 11, 62–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garwood, E. A. & Tyson, K. C. (1975). The response of S24 perennial ryegrass swards to irrigation. 2. Variation in soil- and plant-water status. Journal of the British Grassland Society 30, 51–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garwood, E. A., Tyson, K. C. & Sinclair, J. (1979). Use of water by six grass species. 1. Dry matter yields and response to irrigation. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 93, 13–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gill, N. T. & Vear, K. C. (1958). Agricultural Botany. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co.Google Scholar
Goode, J. E. (1956 a). Soil moisture deficits under swards of different grass species in an orchard. Annual Report East Malling Research Station, 1955, pp. 69–72.Google Scholar
Goode, J. E. (1956 b). Soil moisture deficits developed under long and short grass. Annual Report East Malling Research Station, 1955, pp. 64–68.Google Scholar
Johns, G. C. & Lazenby, A. (1973). Effect of irrigation and defoliation on the herbage production and water efficiency of four temperatue pasture species. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 24, 797–808.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Long, I. F. & French, B. K. (1967). Measurement of soil moisture in the field by neutron moderation. Journal of Soil Science 18, 149–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (1976). Grassland Practice No. 1. Seeds mixtures 1976–77. Short term leaflet, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, No. 46.Google Scholar
Sheehy, J. E., Green, R. M. & Robson, M. J. (1975). The influence of water stress on the photosynthesis of a simulated sward of perennial ryegrass. Annals of Botany 39, 387–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tennant, D. (1975). A test of a modified line intersect method of estimating root length. Journal of Ecology 63, 995–1001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vetter, H. & Scharafat, S. (1964). Root distribution of crop plants in subsoil. Zeitschrift für Acker-und Pflanzenbau 120, 275–298.Google Scholar
Williams, T. E. & Baker, H. K. (1957). Studies on the root development of herbage plants. I. Techniques of herbage root investigations. Journal of the British Grassland Society 12, 49–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, D. (1976). Efficiency of water use. Report of the Welsh Plant Breeding Station 1975, p. 66.Google Scholar
Wind, G. P. (1955). Flow of water through plant roots. Netherlands Journal of Agriculture Science 3, 259–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar