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A Wet Excavation Method for Root/Shoot Studies of Pearl Millet on the Sandy Soils of the Sahel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

M. V. K. Sivakumar  and
S. A. Salaam
M. V. K. Sivakumar
Affiliation:
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Sahelian Center, BP 12404, Niamey, Niger
S. A. Salaam
Affiliation:
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Sahelian Center, BP 12404, Niamey, Niger
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Summary

Root/shoot relations of two cultivars of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) were studied on a sandy soil at Sadore in Niger using a wet excavation method. For the first 10 days after emergence (DAE), the length of the seminal root showed an exponential growth rate while plant height increased more or less linearly. The maximum rooting depth for millet was 168 cm and the maximum number of root axes and primary laterals, 172 per plant. Root length continued to increase up to 75 DAE, the maximum length exceeding 5000 cm per plant. The proportion of total day matter accumulated in the roots decreased from 30% in the early stages to less than 20% by maturity. The wet excavation method is a promising technique for the rapid removal of intact root systems of pearl millet from the sandy soils of the Sahel.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 30 , Issue 3 , July 1994 , pp. 329 - 336
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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