RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Root interactions and plant growth in a tomato/potato onion intercropping system under different phosphorus levels
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 142067
DO 10.1101/142067
A1 Hongjie Yu
A1 Shaocan Chen
A1 Xingang Zhou
A1 Fengzhi Wu
YR 2017
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/05/25/142067.abstract
AB Intercropping systems have been implemented in many parts of the world due to their beneficial effects on yield and biomass. In intercropping systems, changes in plant growth are usually related to variations in root distribution and phosphorus (P) levels, however, root distributions and root tendencies are difficult to study, as root systems grow beneath the soil surface. Therefore, we have a relatively poor understanding of the relationship between plant root interactions and plant growth in intercropping systems. In this study, a custom apparatus consisting of a transparent manual root box was used to observe intact root systems in situ. We investigated how root distribution and root tendency changed in a tomato/potato onion intercropping system under two P treatments, and how tomato plant growth was influenced. The results showed that the shoot and total biomass for the tomato plants were increased by intercropping with potato onion plants under both tested P levels, the root distribution of intercropped tomato plants was deeper than that of monocultured plants, and the tomato roots tended to grow away from the potato onion roots. Our research reveals that a deeper and more evasive root distribution is more conductive to the plant growth of the intercropped tomato.SUMMARY STATEMENT Our study can help more people clearly know the relationship between the root interactions and plant growth in mixed cultures.