Response of Root Traits of Super-rice to Soil Moisture Regulation

ZHANG Licheng; XIE Lijun; HU Deyong; XIAO Weihua; ZHANG Wenping; YAO Bangsong

doi:10.13522/j.cnki.ggps.2017.0462

Abstract：[Objective]The aim of this paper is to unravel how a change in soil moisture affects the water use efficiency and root traits of super-rice under water-saving irrigation methods.[Method]Pot experiments were conducted with four treatments by controlling the soil moisture at 90％～100％ of the field capacity (A), 80％～90％ of the field capacity (B), 70％～80％ of the field capacity (C), and 60％～70％ of the field capacity (D). The control (CK) was to keep the moisture at the field capacity. For each treatment, we calculated the water consumption by the crop in its whole growth season, and measured the root traits at different growth stages.[Result]Compared to CK, soil water regulation saved 15％～30％ of water and increased the mean root diameter and total root volume by 4.80％ and 24.67％ respectively. During the spikelet filling and maturing stages, the root activity under soil moisture regulation was higher than that under CK, and the root growth under treatment B was faster than those under other treatments with the accumulated dry root matter reaching 92.36 g.[Conclusion]It can be concluded that soil water regulation can reduce the demand of the rice for water, promote root growth and increase drought tolerance. Controlling the soil moisture at 80％～90％ of the field capacity appears to give the best results.