Summary
The effect of phosphorus (P) uptake of root and shoot size of plants of white clover was investigated in three experiments using solution culture. A range of cultivars and ecologically contrasting populations was used. Root and shoot sizes were manipulated by pruning and by a split-root technique.
Both root and shoot pruning reduced P uptake rate per plant. P uptake per unit root weight was reduced by shoot pruning, was unaffected by splitting the root system and was only increased by root pruning when shoots were also pruned, and after an interval of about seven days. Evidence is given to show that root pruning had little or no effect on P uptake per unit root in the short-term, or when plants had been pretreated with sufficient levels of P. When the soluble inorganic P in plant tissues was depleted by pretreatment at low P levels, by previous root pruning, or by the removal of a large proportion of shoot, then P uptake per unit root increased when the size of the root system was reduced.
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Caradus, J.R., Snaydon, R.W. Plant factors influencing phosphorus uptake by white clover from solution culture. Plant Soil 93, 165–174 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02374218
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02374218