Abstract
Although the auger method has been reported to be simple and superior to other methods of determination of roots, a standard procedure of determining roots with the same is lacking. In a bid to standardize the auger method for studying wheat root distribution; we sampled roots with 5, 7.5 and 10 cm ID augers on the row and midway between rows down to 180 cm. The suitability of a sampling scheme was adjudged from bias between observed and actual root length densities (RLD). The actual density in a layer was obtained by integrating the equation fitted to the average of root density data horizontally between 0 and 11 cm, because for 22 cm apart rows of wheat the representative half of the unit soil strip was 11 cm from the row; and assumed actual RLD was the average of horizontal distribution of RLD in a particular layer. Single site sampling on the row or between rows gave the maximum bias. Average of two sites viz. on the row and midway between rows with 10 cm ID auger and 7.5 cm ID auger or at three sites with 5 cm ID auger (additional site midway between the earlier two) gave the best estimates in that order.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bohm, W 1979 Methods of Studying Root Systems. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York. 108 p.
De Jong, R and Hayhoe, H N 1984 Diffusion-based soil water simulation for native grassland. Agric. Water Manage. 9, 47–60.
Gajri, P R and Prihar, S S 1985 Rooting, water use and yield relations in wheat on loamy sand and sandy loam soils. Field Crops Res. 12, 115–132.
Gajri, P R, Prihar, S S and Arora, V K 1989 Effect of nitrogen and early irrigation on root development and water use by wheat on two soils. Field Crops Res. 21, 103–114.
Gregory, P J, Gowan, MMc, Biscoe, P V and Hunter, B 1978 Water relations of winter wheat. 1. Growth of the root system. J. Agric. Sci. Camb. 91, 91–102.
Hamblin, A P 1985 The influence of soil structure on water movement, crop root growth and water uptake. Adv. Agron. 38, 95–158.
Malik, R K 1985 Development of root growth and water uptake models for wheat. Ph.D. Diss. Department of Soil and Water Engineering, P A U, Ludhiana, India.
Newman, E I 1966 A method of estimating the total length of roots in a sample. J. Appl. Ecol. 2. 139–145.
Proffitt, A P B, Berliner, P R and Oosterhuis, D M 1985 A comparative study of root distribution and water extraction efficiency by wheat grown under high- and low-frequency irrigation. Agron. J. 77, 655–662.
Sharma, B R and Chaudhary, T N 1982 Wheat root growth, grain yield and water uptake as influenced by soil water regime and depth of nitrogen placement in loamy sand soil. Agric. Water Manage. 6, 365–373.
Van Noordwijk, M, John, F and Jager, Ade 1985 Sampling schemes for estimating root density distribution in cropped fields. Neth. J. Agric. Sci. 33, 241–262.
Ward, K, Klepper, J B, Rickman, R W and Allmaras, R R 1978 Quantitative estimation of living wheat root lengths in soil cores. Agron. J. 70, 675–677.
Wilhelm, W W, Mielke, L N and Fenster, H R 1982 Root development of winter wheat as related to tillage practices in Western Nebraska. Agron. J. 74, 85–87.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kumar, K., Prihar, S.S. & Gajri, P.R. Determination of root distribution of wheat by auger sampling. Plant Soil 149, 245–253 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00016615
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00016615