Comparison of Field Crops with Tap and Fibrous Root System at Early and Late Growth Stages

Abstract

Knowledge of root architecture is significant since it influences on pathways from, photosynthesis products, water and nutrient movement. This study purposed to elucidate root mass, root length, root/shoot ratio, root/total mass ratio and above-ground characteristics in Vicia pannonica Crantz., Carthamus tinctorius L. and Pisum sativum ssp. arvense L. with taproot and Triticum aestivum L., Hordeum vulgare L. conv. distichon, X Triticosecale Wittmack, Avena sativa L. and Secale cereale L. with fibrous roots at 200 cm long tubes under field-grown condition. Crop harvesting is based on early and late growth stages of cereal crops. The results indicated that winter field crops had a wide range of differences with regard to root and above-ground traits at both growth stages. The root traits of field crop species varied considerably from 0.3 to 5.9 g and 2.4 to 11.9 g for root mass and 84.7 to 127.7 cm and 84.5 to 166 cm for root length at early and late growth stages respectively, while shoot mass was between 0.3–5.7 g and 5.5–29.8 g. Furthermore, the percentage distribution of root mass accumulated in 0-20 cm root length at early and late growth stages, ranged between 52.3 to 81.4 % and 27.7 to 75.2 %, respectively. The findings showed that crops with taproot had less root and shoot mass and shorter root length than cereals with fibrous roots at both growth stages. This study also significantly advances our understanding of root-shoot competition by comparing the agronomical traits of winter field crops with tap and fibrous roots at different growth stages.