In a 2-year field study, we quantified lateral root growth patterns and soil water depletion dynamics in the invasive annual Centaurea solstitialis and two native perennials, Elymus glaucus and Grindelia camporum. Centaurea solstitialis produced lateral roots most actively from early April to mid-June, during the late rosette to spiny seedhead stage while both root growth and water depletion we...

In a 2-year field study, we quantified lateral root growth patterns and soil water depletion dynamics in the invasive annual Centaurea solstitialis and two native perennials, Elymus glaucus and Grindelia camporum. Centaurea solstitialis produced lateral roots most actively from early April to mid-June, during the late rosette to spiny seedhead stage while both root growth and water depletion we...

Withania somnifera (L) Dunal. and Solanum surattense Burm f., the two medicinally important members of family Solanaceae, were investigated for induction of hairy roots using soil borne bacterium, Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Explants like stem segments, hypocotyls and leaves with midrib were infected with the bacterium in vitro. In both plants, extensive hairy roots were induced from leaf explant...

Zinc (Zn) deficiency reduces crop yields globally. This study investigated the importance of root morphological traits, especially root hairs, in plant growth and Zn uptake. Wild-type barley (Hordeum vulgare) Pallas and its root-hairless mutant brb were grown in soil and solution culture at different levels of Zn supply for 16 d. Root morphological traits (root length, diameter, and surface are...

abstract- maize production, which is ranked after wheat and barely in fars province, iran, needs a considerable amount of irrigation water that is not available in scarce water conditions in drought situations. therefore, proper planting method can improve irrigation water management. the objectives of the present study were to investigate the effects of two planting methods, on-bed and in furr...

The effects of urbanization on soil structure can be extensive. Infiltration of rain water through soils can be greatly reduced, plus the benefits of infiltration and biofiltration devices can be severely jeopardized. Our research group (along with others), have been studying disturbed urban soils for several decades, both in the laboratory and in the field. The effects of compaction on infiltr...

Overtopping, internal erosion, and piping are the main causes of accidents and failures of embankments for dams, lagoons, and levees. A key parameter in the failure of these structures is the erodibility of the soil materials used in construction of the embankments. The soil materials are typically constructed based on compaction specifications. The jet erosion test (JET) has been developed to ...

Soil compaction has become a widespread problem in the world and is one of the factors involved in land degradation and declining crop yields, especially in the arid and semi-arid agriculture. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of subsoil compaction on morphological, physiological and agronomic aspects of wheat .The research was carried out in the experimental farms of Anb...

Soil productivity is a complex interaction of physical, chemical, and biological processes. Unfortunately, the effects of biomass removal on these processes are not well understood or easily measured (Powers 2006). For example, removing logging slash from forest stands for biomass production, rather than leaving the harvest residues on site, can change nutrient availability (Sinclair 1992), soi...