Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T19:06:44.103Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Genotypic and Environmental Variation in Nodal Root Growth of Post-rainy Season (Rabi) Sorghum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

P. Soman  and
N. Seetharama
P. Soman
Affiliation:
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru PO, Andhra Pradesh 502 324, India
N. Seetharama
Affiliation:
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru PO, Andhra Pradesh 502 324, India
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Rapid initiation and growth of nodal roots (NR) are critical for the establishment of post-rainy season (rabi) sorghums grown in drying soil. The growth of NR was studied in sorghum in the field when sown at different depths in order to vary the crown depth, when different levels of irrigation water were applied to create different moisture contents in the topsoil, and in a number of cultivars to assess genotypic variability. Variation in sowing depth did not result in differences in NR growth, partly because of the capacity of sorghum to vary the mesocotyl length, which brought the crown to approximately the same depth. Different soil moisture levels in the field affected the elongation rate of NR, but not their initiation. Genotypic variation existed in the thermal time required for NR initiation and rate of elongation. The variation in NR growth was independent of the variation in shoot growth. The genotypic variability in NR growth offers an opportunity for combining root-related traits with useful agronomic characters.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 28 , Issue 3 , July 1992 , pp. 331 - 341
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

AICSIP (All India Co-ordinated Sorghum Improvement Project) (1986). Annual Report 1985. Rajendra Nagar, Andhra Pradesh, India: National Research Center for Sorghum (NRCS).Google Scholar
Angus, J. F., Cunningham, R. B., Moncur, M. W. & Mackenzie, D. H. (1981). Phasic development in field crops I. Thermal response in the seedling phase. Field Crops Research 3: 365–378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blum, A. & Arkin, G. F. (1984). Sorghum root growth and water-use as affected by water supply and growth duration. Field Crops Research 9: 131–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blum, A. & Ritchie, J. F. (1984). Effect of soil surface water content on sorghum root distribution in the soil. Field Crops Research 8: 169–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bur, R., Morad, P. & Berducan, J. (1977). Importance of seminal and adventitious roots for growth and cation nutrition in grain sorghum (Sorghum doctina). Plant and Soil 47: 1–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cornish, P. S., McWilliam, J. R. & So, H. B. (1984). Root morphology, water uptake, growth and survival of seedlings of ryegrass and phalaris. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 35: 479–492.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freeman, J. E. (1970). Development and structure of the sorghum plant and its fruit. In Sorghum Production and Utilization, 1–28 (ed. by Wale, J. S. and Ross, W. M.). Westport, USA: AVI Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Hanks, R. J., Keller, J., Rasmussen, V. P. & Wilson, G. D. (1976). Line source sprinkler for continuous variable irrigation-crop production studies. Soil Science Society of America journal 40: 426–429.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jordan, W. R. & Miller, F. R. (1980). Genetic variability in sorghum root systems: implications for drought tolerance. In Adaptation of Plants to Water and High Temperature Stress, 383–399 (ed. by Turner, N. C. and Kramer, P. J.). London: Wiley Inter Science.Google Scholar
Jordan, W. R. & Sullivan, C. Y. (1982). Reaction and resistance of grain sorghum to heat and drought. In Sorghum in the Eighties: Proceedings of the International Symposium, 2–7 November 1981, 131–142. Patancheru, India: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.Google Scholar
Kanitkar, N. V., Sirur, S. S. & Gokhale, D. H. (1968). Dry Farming in India. New Delhi: Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).Google Scholar
Maiti, R. K. & Gutierrez, M. De. J. C. (1986). Variability in the elongation of mesocotyl in sorghum under deeper depth of planting and its relation to seedling establishment and drought resistance at the seedling stage. Sorghum Newsletter 29: 92.Google Scholar
Mirhadi, M. J. & Kobayashi, Y. (1980). The relationship between the growth of different plant organs of grain sorghum hybrid. Japanese Journal of Crop Science 49: 420–427.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Toole, J. C. & Bland, W. L. (1987). Genotypic variation in plant root system. Agronomy Review 41: 91–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seetharama, N., Flower, D. J., Jayachandran, R., Krishna, K. R., Peacock, J. M., Singh, S., Soman, P., Rani, A. U. & Wani, S. P. (1990). Assessment of genotypic differences in sorghum root characteristics. In Proceedings of the International Congress of Plant Physiology, New Delhi, India, February 15–20, 1988, 215–220. New Delhi: Society for Plant Physiology and Biochemistry.Google Scholar
Seetharama, N., Sardar, Singh & Reddy, B. V. S. (1990). Strategies for improving rabi sorghum productivity. Proceedings of Indian National Science Academy, B56, 455–467.Google Scholar
Soman, P. (1990). Development of a technique to study seedling emergence in response to moisture deficit in the field-The seed bed environment. Annals of Applied Biology 116: 357–364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wanjari, K. B. & Bhoyar, M. P. (1980). Coleoptile length in sorghum. Seed Science and Technology 8: 169–174.Google Scholar