Root development of leek in a cropping system with red clover

This root study was part of a field experiment where the aim was to assess the possibilities of synchronizing N mineralization from red clover (Trifol ium pratense L. ev. Vivi) with N uptake in leek (Allium porrum L. cv. Hilar i). Strips of red clover, left between the rows of leek, were incorporated either at planting or 2 or 4 weeks after planting. The objectives in the pa rt of the experiment presented in this article were to evaluate how leek ro ot growth was influenced by row distance, time of incorporation and red clo ver. Due to slow lateral root proliferation, the N uptake between rows in t he clover treatment with 0.7 in row distance was lower than in the treatmen t with 0.5 m row distance. As a result, higher amounts of mineral N were le ft between rows in the former treatment where it constituted a risk of N le aching after crop harvest. Neither row distances nor time of incorporation influenced root weight. In the 0-0.15 in soil layer root intensity was high er and lateral distribution more even in the control treatment than in the clover treatment.