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Effect of Carbon Dioxide, Oxygen, and Soil Moisture Suction on Germination of Corn and Soybeans¹

ABSTRACT

Corn and soybeans were planted in soil-filled glass tubes which were continuously aerated with known mixtures of CO₂, O₂, and N₂. Initial soil moisture suction was varied independently of gas composition. Various aspects of germinative growth were measured during and after various intervals of aeration.

The results indicate that the kind and extent of response obtained from a given CO₂ treatment was influenced in varying degrees by time, soil suction, plant species, and the growth variables measured. The importance of excessive CO₂ as a causal agent of plant injury during germination has probably been overestimated. Corn and soybeans during germination tolerated, and sometimes were stimulated by, CO₂ concentrations higher than those normally found in soils. When CO₂ was sufficiently high to cause severe toxicity, seedlings recovered quickly upon aeration with air. Comparatively small changes in soil moisture suction often completely overshadowed the effect of different CO₂ levels on root growth. In general, growth increased as soil moisture suction decreased; but excessive soil moisture, apart from the aeration treatments used, severely limited or completely stopped germinative growth. With corn the effect occurred at soil saturation and was probably due to reduced O₂ diffusion rates. With soybeans the effect occurred at a lesser moisture content and was due primarily to invasion by pathogenic organisms.

¹ Joint contribution from the Northern Plains Branch, Soil and Water Conservation Research Division, ARS, USDA, and Department of Agronomy, Colorado Agr. Exp. Sta., Fort Collins. This work was supported in part by the Western Regional Research Project, W-67, and is part of a thesis submitted by the senior author in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree. Colorado Agr. Exp. Sta. Scientific J. Series 939.

² Authors are, respectively, Soil Scientist, USDA, and Associate Professor of Agronomy (Soils), Colorado State University, Fort Collins.

Received for publication May 26, 1964. Accepted for publication July 16, 1964.