ROOTING PATTERN OF OATS AS AFFECTED BY PLANT-POPULATION AND ROW SPACING

The experiment was carried out at Sao Manuel Experimental Farm, Agronomy College, Sao Paulo State University, Brazil, in a Dark-Red Latosol (loamy sand) to verify oat (Avena strigosa Schreber) rooting patterns under different plant populations (1,5 x 10(6) and 2.5 x 106 plants/ha) and row spacings (0.20 and 0.30 m.). Soil and roots were sampled 81 days after planting, at bloom stage. Cylindrical cores with 2.6 cm diameter were taken from soil depths of 0-10, 10-20, 20-40 and 40-60 cm. At the same time, plant canopies where also sampled to determine the dry weight. Soil analysis showed P to be concentrated in the upper 10 cm whereas the bases were uniform in the profile. There was a high root concentration in the 0-10 cm layer (9.9 to 13.0 cm/cm3 under the row and 10.0 to 11.5 cm/cm2 in the inter-row), which was not related to chemical characteristics of the soil. There was no effect of plant population or row spacing on oat root distribution or growth in the soil profile.