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Effects of alternate partial root-zone irrigation on soil microorganism and maize growth

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Abstract

Partial root-zone irrigation creates a dynamic heterogeneous distribution of soil moisture that may affect the numbers and activities of soil microorganisms. In this study, three irrigation methods, i.e. conventional irrigation (CI), alternate partial root-zone irrigation (APRI, alternate watering on both sides of the pot) and fixed partial root-zone irrigation (FPRI, fixed watering on one side of the pot), and three watering levels, i.e. well-watered, mild and severe water deficit, were applied on pot-grown maize. Numbers of soil microorganisms, plant height, stalk diameter, leaf area and biomass accumulation were monitored over the treatment period. A quadratic parabola relationship between the number of soil microorganisms and soil water content was found, indicating the number of soil microorganisms reached a peak at the mild soil water deficit condition, possibly due to better soil aeration. The peak number of soil microorganism was obtained when soil water content was 66, 79 and 75% of field capacity for CI, FPRI and APRI, respectively. Soil microorganisms were evenly distributed in both sides of APRI and their total numbers were always higher than those under other two irrigation methods for the same soil water content. The count of soil microorganisms in the dry root zone of FPRI was reduced by a lack of water. Maximum biomass accumulation was obtained under well watered condition but severe water deficit led to a 50% reduction in the CI treatment. Such reduction was much smaller under APRI and therefore the highest water use efficiency was obtained. Our results suggest that APRI maintained the best aeration and moisture condition in the soil and enhanced the activities of soil microorganisms, which might also have benefited the plant growth.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the research grants from Chinese National Natural Science Fund (2006CB403406, 50339030), Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China Fund (IRT0657), Hong Kong Research Grant Council (HKBU 2465/05M) and Hong Kong University Grants Committee (AoE/B-07/99).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Lab of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas, Ministry of Education, Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China, 712100

    Jinfeng Wang, Shaozhong Kang, Fucang Zhang & Zhijun Li

  2. Center for Agricultural Water Research in China, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China, 100083

    Shaozhong Kang

  3. Agricultural College, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530005

    Fusheng Li

  4. Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China

    Jianhua Zhang

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  1. Jinfeng Wang
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  2. Shaozhong Kang
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  3. Fusheng Li
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  4. Fucang Zhang
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  5. Zhijun Li
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  6. Jianhua Zhang
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Correspondence to Shaozhong Kang or Jianhua Zhang.

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Responsible Editor: Rana E. Munns

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Wang, J., Kang, S., Li, F. et al. Effects of alternate partial root-zone irrigation on soil microorganism and maize growth. Plant Soil 302, 45–52 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9453-8

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