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Abstract
Nkongolo, N.V., M. Yamada,
and I. Nakagawa. 2007. Spatial variability
selected soil physical properties and root growth of sweet corn. JEMREST 3:275-285.
DOI: 10.4029/2007jemrest3no127
We
studied the spatial variation of soil physical properties and that of sweet
corn root dry mass (RDM) along a 41m long ridge divided into 3 portions and
subjected to application of chemical fertilizer (CF) in the first 12 m, zero
amendment (ZA) in the next 12 m and animal manure (AM) in the last 17 m, respectively. The experiment was conducted
on a light colored volcanic ash soil at the National
Agriculture Research
Center (Japan). Results showed that
coefficients of variation (CV) ranged from 3 to 12 and 38 to 58% for soil
physical properties and RDM respectively. Except for soil gravimetric water
content (qg) and RDM, all soil physical
properties could be sampled together at six lags or 1.80-m for independent
observations in CF portion. However, in ZA and AM, autocorrelogram functions
(r(h)) showed mainly cyclic patterns, suggesting the presence of
compacted zones within the ridge as the result of wheel traffic. Air-filled porosity (¦a) was highest and negatively correlated with RDM (p=0.05,
r=-0.35) in ZA. In AM, qg was highest and positively
correlated with RDM (p=0.05, r= 0.45). A short variability in soil physical
properties resulted in higher variability in crop growth response.
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