A case study on soil compaction and Aphanomyces root rot as causes of uneven pea growth
1994
Grath, T. | Haakansson, I.
During a rainy period in 1991, most pea fields in a region in southwestern Sweden became extremely patchy. Premature yellowing or dying of the peas developed in a pattern that suggested machinery-induced soil compaction to be an important reason. A case study was conducted in such a field. When compared with plots with healthy peas, plots with dying peas were found to have significantly higher soil penetration resistance and degree of compactness and significantly lower air-filled porosity, plant height, number of pods per plant, number of nodules on the roots, and content of macro nutrients in the plants. Increased concentrations of Fe and Mn in the dying plants indicated oxygen deficiency in the soil. In such plots there was also a heavy infestation of Aphanomyces root rot. In plots with severe root rot infestation, but with more favourable soil physical conditions the crop was less severly damaged. The combination of poor soil physical conditions and root rot infestation seemed to have completely inhibited the N-fixation.
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