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Published in Soil Sci Soc Am J 29:591-594 (1965)
© 1965 Soil Science Society of America
677 S. Segoe Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA
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Rooting Volume of Corn and Alfalfa in Shale-Influenced Soils in Northwestern Illinois1

J. B. Fehrenbacher, B. W. Ray and W. M. Edwards2

ABSTRACT

Corn roots (Zea mays L.) did not penetrate calcareous Maquoketa shale (IIC) horizons appreciably in four soils derived from thin loess on shale in northwestern Illinois. Alfalfa roots (Medicago sativa L.), in contrast, penetrated the shale horizons to considerable depths. This difference in rooting behavior of the two plants probably explains the better adaptation of a perennial taprooted plant such as alfalfa to these soils than an annual plant such as corn. The shale (IIC) horizons had low total porosities (<38%), very low noncapillary porosities (<1.5%), high bulk densities (>1.69 g/cc), and were impermeable to water. Bulk density slightly greater than 1.80 g/cc and intraped porosity of slightly less than 32% of discrete peds in the IIC horizons appear to be limiting to corn root penetration. Seepage and erosion problems on these soils are related to the impermeable nature and depth to the underlying shale.

NOTES

1 Contribution from the Dept. of Agronomy, Illinois Agr. Exp. Sta., Urbana. Published with the approval of the Director of the Illinois Agr. Exp. Sta.

2 Associate Professor and Assistant Professor, respectively, University of Illinois; formerly Graduate Assistant, Univ. of Illinois, now Graduate Assistant, Dept. of Agronomy, Iowa State Univ.

Received for publication March 12, 1965. Accepted for publication May 3, 1965.






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Environmental Quality		 The Plant Genome
Copyright © 1965 by the Soil Science Society of America.