Journal article
Wheat roots proliferate in response to nitrogen and phosphorus fertilisers in Sodosol and Vertosol soils of south-eastern Australia
SJ Officer, VM Dunbabin, RD Armstrong, RM Norton, GA Kearney
Australian Journal of Soil Research | CSIRO PUBLISHING | Published : 2009
DOI: 10.1071/SR08089
Abstract
Root growth responses to separately placed of bands of N and P fertiliser were examined at the 3-leaf (GS13) and stem extension growth stages (GS30) for wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Yitpi) growing in 2 major alkaline soil types from the rainfed (375-420mm) grain production regions of south-eastern Australia. Intact cores of a Sodosol and a Vertosol were destructively sampled and changes in root length density (RLD) and root diameter distribution within the soil profile were examined using restricted maximum likelihood analysis and principal component analysis, respectively. At GS13, RLD increased in the Vertosol when only P was applied, although there was no shoot growth response. The roo..
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Awarded by Grains Research and Development Corporation through the Nutrient Management Initiative
Funding Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the very patient technical assistance of Graham Price, Corey Mathews, and Aleem Khan. Funding for the project was provided through the Department of Primary Industries, Victoria, and the Grains Research and Development Corporation through the Nutrient Management Initiative (project UM00023). The authors would particularly like to thank an anonymous reviewer for their considerable input into the paper.