Effect of phosforus level, and its position in the soil, on the commom bean shoot and root system development.

Author(s)

Miriam Ferraz Moreira

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Piracicaba.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALA/BC)
• Defense date: 2004-06-25

Examining board members

Durval Dourado Neto; Morel Pereira Barbosa Filho; Eduardo Caruso Machado; Paulo Augusto Manfron; Ricardo Ferraz de Oliveira

• Advisor: Durval Dourado Neto; Ricardo Ferraz de Oliveira

Abstract

The root system is essential to water and nutrient acquisition, hormone synthesis and carbohydrate storage. Although the knowledge about its importance, there are much less studies with this organ, than with the shoots. Probably, due to the difficulties in its study, since it develops in the soil, making directs observations harder. The stabeleshiment of cheap, practical, fast and non-destructive methods to evaluate the root system development would be very useful. Despite the observation of a close relationship between fresh matter and capacitance is not new, there are not many studies with it. The use of a portable capacitance meter to relate capacitance values with different root system parameters, such as dry weight, length, area and respiration, would provide the fast one, and non-destructive evaluation, under different growing conditions, such as different phosphorus levels in the soil. The lack of phosphorus in tropical and sub-tropical soils has limited many crops yield, as common beans, one of the main protein sources of these region countries. Previous studies had shown a wise genetic variation on phosphorus efficiency in common bean germoplasm, which allows the adaptation to low phosphorus condition. Since P presents low mobilization in the soil, genotypes with root plasticity are considered efficient. This study includes experiments where the phosphorus was placed not uniformly in the substrate, simulating the field natural conditions, to verify the common beans root system response. Different mechanism that confers better plants P use is known, and most of them, are related to the root system. Some root parameters such as root position along the profile, root length, root area, root respiration and root dry weight were evaluated to clarify this question. Special focus were given to adventitious root formation under different phosphorus levels, since they grow in shallower soil layer, where according to several author is where there is higher phosphorus availability. Furthermore, the effect of the P position on the shoot and yield were evaluated. The capacitance can be used as an alternative method to evaluate: (i) the bean plants growth, as total dry weight and, (ii) the functional root portion. When water and nutrients are in optimal level, the phosphorus distribution on the top soil layer (0 to 5 cm), results in the yield component increase. The available phosphorus position in the soil, determines the accumulation and distribution pattern of the dry matter. (AU)