M. Araya et al., CHANGES IN DISTRIBUTION OF ROOTS OF BANANA (MUSA AAA CV VALERY) WITH PLANT HEIGHT, DISTANCE FROM THE PSEUDOSTEM, AND SOIL DEPTH, Journal of horticultural science & biotechnology, 73(4), 1998, pp. 437-440
The distribution of roots in banana was determined on a sandy clay loa
m in Costa Pica. Samples were taken from soil blocks at distances of 0
to 30, 30 to 60, and 60 to 90 cm from the pseudostem, 0 to 120 cm dep
th at intervals of 15 cm, and from plants that were 120, 150, 180 or 2
10 cm tall (non-flowering), plus a set from plants with emergent flowe
r stalks. Plant height and the horizontal distance from the pseudostem
did not affect the percentage of fresh root weight. In contrast, ther
e was a significant effect of soil depth, and a significant interactio
n between soil depth x horizontal distance from the pseudostem, on the
percentage of fresh root weight. For the three distances from the pse
udostem, the percentage of root weight decreased sharply with soil dep
th. Independently of the distance from the pseudostem, all plants show
ed the highest root weight in the top 15 cm of soil. More than 65% of
the total root weight was found in the upper 30 cm of soil. More than
79% and 88% of the roots were detected in the first 45 and 60 cm of th
e soil profile at any plant height, respectively. The total fresh root
weight in the excavated area (0-90 cm from the pseudostem and 0-120 c
m depth) was 1.16, 0.97, 1.14, 1.50, and 1.22 kg in the plant heights
of 120, 150, 180 and 210 cm, and plants with emergent flower stalks, r
espectively. Additional studies of root stratification patterns are ne
cessary for a better understanding of the interaction between cultural
practices and crop yield.