Importance of the chemical properties of the rhizosphere for the growth and mineral nutrition of corn (Zea mays L.)

• Autores: Raven , Klaus, Calderón, Constantino
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2025
• Institución: Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina
• Repositorio: Revistas - Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:revistas.lamolina.edu.pe:article/2309
• Enlace del recurso: https://revistas.lamolina.edu.pe/index.php/jpagronomy/article/view/2309
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: Soil; chemical properties; Zea mays L.; plant growth; mineral nutrition; soil-plant relationships

The rhizosphere is the habitat of roots.  Thus, rhizospheric soil properties are expected to be better related with plant production.  In the end, the sustainable use of natural resources, food supply for society, and the ecology of the earth's surface are affected.  This hypothesis has been mainly tested for individual properties of specific soil-element-plant combinations, but not globally.  The objective of this research was to evaluate if rhizospheric soil chemical characteristics were closer related to plant growth and mineral nutrition than those of bulk soil.  For this purpose, linear relationships between soil and plant variables for both soil types were compared.  Samples of the 2 soil types were taken from a corn (Zea mays L.) field in the Oyolopampa farm (Ayacucho, Perú), and basic chemical properties and the soluble and available concentrations of all essential mineral nutrient elements for higher plants, except Mo and Ni, were measured.  Plant samples were also collected and used to quantify dry matter production, concentrations of the same elements in dry matter, and their uptake by plant shoots.  The global analysis of 49 pairs of relationships showed that chemical properties of rhizospheric soil had superior correlation with the growth and mineral nutrition of corn than those of bulk soil.  This superiority was not noted in all comparisons.  Individually, the measured levels of available Fe, total N, available P, easily oxidizable C, extractable acidity, and available Zn in the rhizospheric soil were helpful to explain the performance of the plants.  However, some inconsistent relationships remain unexplained and require further investigation.  Therefore, it is recommended to analyze the interactions between chemical properties and their effects on plants and to make a combined assessment of the chemical information of this work with physical and biological features of the rhizospheric soil.  The better understanding provided by the rhizospheric soil suggested that it should be preferentially sampled, analyzed, and considered in crop production.