Monitoring Corn Root Development with a Mini-Rhizotron in Confined Growth Boxes
1988
Keng, J. C. W.
Nondestructive monitoring of the dynamic growth of crop root systems is important for research and teaching procedures studying root response to soil environment. Two commonly used nondestructive methods are (i) traditional rhizotrons that use flat-sided viewing panels for root observaton, and (ii) mini-rhizotrons that use viewing tubes and fiber optical borescope techniques. The objective of this study was to compare these two methods in the monitoring of corn (Zea mays L.) root development under greenhouse conditions. Wooden containers, 350 by 350 mm and 1.00 m in height, were constructed with a plastic, side viewing panel and a 43-mm inner diameter borescope tube for root observations. Root intensity (root length per unit area) at 100-mm depth intervals was calculated using the Newman equation on the 50th, 74th, and 99th days after planting. Coefficients of variance for total root intensities ranged from 10.8 to 37.4%, with the viewing tube data being more variable than those obtained from the side viewing panels. Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) suggested significant difference at the 95% level between the two methods. Further simultaneous confidence interval (SCI) calculations indicated that different root growth patterns at the 0- to 100-mm depth interval contributed to the significant difference between the tested methods. Contribution no. 350 from the Agassiz Res. Stn.
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