The effect of soil physical conditions produced by various cultivation systems on the root development of winter wheat

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Abstract
Summary The results of a field experiment on winter wheat are presented in which the effects of the soil physical properties produced by different cultivation systems were studied in relation to root development. The extension rate of the seminal root axes was slower in undisturbed or shallow (5 cm) cultivated soil than in ploughed or deep (20 cm) cultivated soil leading to earlier lateral branching and the production of an effectively shallower seminal root system which persisted throughout the season. During the first four weeks after drilling the soil in the ploughed and the deeper cultivated plots was of lower bulk density and there were more pores of a diameter suitable for unimpeded root extension. It is suggested that seminal root development in uncultivated soils, which are less readily deformed than cultivated ones, is related to the probability of the extending seminal axes contacting pores of suitable dimensions. The implications of shallower rooting are discussed and related to field experience with cereal crops drilled directly into uncultivated soils where success has consistently been achieved on free-draining, open-textured soils.