Abstract
Background & aim
This study tested the hypothesis that manure incorporation in the top of the B horizon of a texture-contrast duplex soil would increase root growth and water uptake by pasture grasses.
Methods
It involved soil columns consisting of a sandy loam topsoil over a dense clay. Four soil treatments included (i) a control profile, and modifications to the upper 10 cm of the clay subsoil involving (ii) a lower bulk density and (iii) the incorporation of poultry and (iv) dairy manure into this layer. Italian ryegrass and prairie grass were grown in separate columns, over 3 growth cycles.
Results
Manure incorporation decreased root biomass by up to 40% in both grasses, without any reduction in shoot growth. Root distribution varied with roots proliferating in the manured-layers compared with the same layer without the manures, resulting in a doubling of the root length density in the manured layer. Shoot yields in the 2nd growth cycle were similar between treatments, yet there was lower transpiration from the shoots in the manure treatments. This meant that manure incorporation increased transpiration efficiency, as it changed the distribution and architecture of the roots.
Conclusion
Manure incorporation into subsoil increased transpiration efficiency, and root surface area, rather than shoot biomass, was the controlling factor for transpiration from the shoots of the grasses.
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Acknowledgements
Thanks are expressed to Chris Evans and Robert Evans for their assistance during the column construction and harvesting processes. We also acknowledge the Grains Research and Development Corporation for its financial support to the subsoil manuring program.
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Responsible Editor: Tibor Kalapos.
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Espinosa, D., Sale, P.W.G. & Tang, C. Changes in pasture root growth and transpiration efficiency following the incorporation of organic manures into a clay subsoil. Plant Soil 348, 329–343 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0951-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0951-3