Complementarity in root architecture for nutrient uptake in ancient maize/bean and maize/bean/squash polycultures.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

During their domestication, maize, bean and squash evolved in polycultures grown by small-scale farmers in the Americas. Polycultures often overyield on low-fertility soils, which are a primary production constraint in low-input agriculture. We hypothesized that root architectural differences among these crops causes niche complementarity and thereby greater nutrient acquisition than corresponding monocultures.

Methods

A functional-structural plant model, SimRoot, was used to simulate the first 40 d of growth of these crops in monoculture and polyculture and to determine the effects of root competition on nutrient uptake and biomass production of each plant on low-nitrogen, -phosphorus and -potassium soils.

Key results

Squash, the earliest domestic

SUBMITTER: Postma JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3394648 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature