CHAPTER VI
THE ROOT SYSTEMS OF PLANTS

THE great depth and high fertility of the soils of arid and semiarid regions have made possible the profitable production of agricultural plants under a rainfall very much lower than that of humid regions. To make the principles of this system fully understood, it is necessary to review briefly our knowledge of the root systems of plants growing under arid conditions.


Functions of roots

The roots serve at least three distinct uses or purposes: First, they give the plant a foothold in the earth; secondly, they enable the plant to secure from the soil the large amount of water needed in plant growth, and, thirdly, they enable the plant to secure the indispensable mineral foods which can be obtained only from the soil. So important is the proper supply of water and food in the growth of a plant that, in a given soil, the crop yield is usually in direct proportion to the development of the root system. Whenever the roots are hindered in their development, the growth of the plant above ground is likewise retarded, and crop failure may result. The importance of roots is not fully appreciated because they are hidden from direct view. Successful dry-farming consists, largely in the adoption of practices that facilitate a full and free development-of plant roots. Were it not that the nature of arid soils, as explained in preceding chapters, is such that full root development is comparatively easy, it would probably be useless to attempt to establish a system of dry-farming.


Kinds of roots

The root is the part of the plant that is found underground. It has numerous branches, twigs, and filaments. The root which first forms when the seed bursts is known as the primary root. From this primary root other roots develop, which are known as secondary roots. When the primary root grows more rapidly than the secondary roots, the so-called taproot, characteristic of lucerne, clover, and similar plants, is formed. When, on the other hand, the taproot grows slowly or ceases its growth, and the numerous secondary roots grow long, a fibrous root system results, which is characteristic of the cereals, grasses, corn, and other similar plants. With any type of root, the tendency of growth is downward; though under conditions that are not favorable for the downward penetration of the roots the lateral extensions may be very large and near the surface

Wheat RootsAlfalfa Roots


Extent of roots

A number of investigators have attempted to determine the weight of the roots as compared with the weight of the plant above ground, hut the subject, because of its great experimental difficulties, has not been very accurately explained. Schumacher, experimenting about 1867, found that the roots of a well-established field of clover weighed as much as the total weight of the stems and leaves of the year's crop, and that the weight of roots of an oat crop was 43 per cent of the total weight of seed and straw. Nobbe, a few years later, found in one of his experiments that the roots of timothy weighed 31 per cent of the weight of the hay. Hosaeus, investigating the same subject about the same time, found that the weight of roots of one of the brome grasses was as great as the weight of the part above ground; of serradella, 77 per cent; of flax, 34 per cent; of oats, 14 per cent; of barley, 13 per cent, and of peas, 9 per cent. Sanborn, working at the Utah Station in 1893, found results very much the same

Although these results are not concordant, they show that the weight of the roots is considerable, in many cases far beyond the belief of those who have given the subject little or no attention. It may be noted that on the basis of the figures above obtained, it is very probable that the roots in one acre of an average wheat crop would weigh in the neighborhood of a thousand pounds--possibly considerably more. It should be remembered that the investigations which yielded the preceding results were all conducted in humid climates and at a time when the methods for the study of the root systems were poorly developed. The data obtained, therefore, represent, in all probability, minimum results which would be materially increased should the work be repeated now.

The relative weights of the roots and the stems and the leaves do not alone show the large quantity of roots; the total lengths of the roots are even more striking. The German investigator, Nobbe, in a laborious experiment conducted about 1867, added the lengths of all the fine roots from each of various plants. He found that the total length of roots, that is, the sum of the lengths of all the roots, of one wheat plant was about 268 feet, and that the total length of the roots of one plant of rye was about 385 feet. King, of Wisconsin, estimates that in one of his experiments, one corn plant produced in the upper 3 feet of soil 1452 feet of roots. These surprisingly large numbers indicate with emphasis the thoroughness with which the roots invade the soil.


Depth of root penetration

The earlier root studies did not pretend to determine the depth to which roots actually penetrate the earth. In recent years, however, a number of carefully conducted experiments were made by the New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas, Colorado, and especially the North Dakota stations to obtain accurate information concerning the depth to which agricultural plants penetrate soils. It is somewhat regrettable, for the purpose of dry-farming, that these states, with the exception of Colorado, are all in the humid or sub-humid area of the United States. Nevertheless, the conclusions drawn from the work are such that they may be safely applied in the development of the principles of dry-farming.

There is a general belief among farmers that the roots of all cultivated crops are very near the surface and that few reach a greater depth than one or two feet. The first striking result of the American investigations was that every crop, without exception, penetrates the soil deeper than was thought possible in earlier days. For example, it was found that corn roots penetrated fully four feet into the ground and that they fully occupied all of the soil to that depth.

On deeper and somewhat drier soils, corn roots went down as far as eight feet. The roots of the small grains,--wheat, oats, barley,--penetrated the soil from four to eight or ten feet. Various perennial grasses rooted to a depth of four feet the first year; the next year, five and one half feet; no determinations were made of the depth of the roots in later years, though it had undoubtedly increased. Alfalfa was the deepest rooted of all the crops studied by the American stations. Potato roots filled the soil fully to a depth of three feet; sugar beets to a depth of nearly four feet.

In every case, under conditions prevailing in the experiments, and which did not have in mind the forcing of the roots down to extraordinary depths, it seemed that the normal depth of the roots of ordinary field crops was from three to eight feet. Sub-soiling and deep plowing enable the roots to go deeper into the soil. This work has been confirmed in ordinary experience until there can be little question about the accuracy of the results.

Almost all of these results were obtained in humid climates on humid soils, somewhat shallow, and underlain by a more or less infertile subsoil. In fact, they were obtained under conditions really unfavorable to plant growth. It has been explained in Chapter V that soils formed under arid or semiarid conditions are uniformly deep and porous and that the fertility of the subsoil is, in most cases, practically as great as of the topsoil. There is, therefore, in arid soils, an excellent opportunity for a comparatively easy penetration of the roots to great depths and, because of the available fertility, a chance throughout the whole of the subsoil for ample root development. Moreover, the porous condition of the soil permits the entrance of air, which helps to purify the soil atmosphere and thereby to make the conditions more favorable for root development. Consequently it is to be expected that, in arid regions, roots will ordinarily go to a much greater depth than in humid regions.

It is further to be remembered that roots are in constant search of food and water and are likely to develop in the directions where there is the greatest abundance of these materials. Under systems of dry-farming the soil water is stored more or less uniformly to considerable depths--ten feet or more --and in most cases the percentage of moisture in the spring and summer is as large or larger some feet below the surface than in the upper two feet. The tendency of the root is, then, to move downward to depths where there is a larger supply of water. Especially is this tendency increased by the available soil fertility found throughout the whole depth of the soil mass.

It has been argued that in many of the irrigated sections the roots do not penetrate the soil to great depths. This is true, because by the present wasteful methods of irrigation the plant receives so much water at such untimely seasons that the roots acquire the habit of feeding very near the surface where the water is so lavishly applied. This means not only that the plant suffers more greatly in times of drouth, but that, since the feeding ground of the roots is smaller, the crop is likely to be small.

These deductions as to the depth to which plant roots will penetrate the soil in arid regions are fully corroborated by experiments and general observation. The workers of the Utah Station have repeatedly observed plant roots on dry-farms to a depth of ten feet. Lucerne roots from thirty to fifty feet in length are frequently exposed in the gullies formed by the mountain torrents. Roots of trees, similarly, go down to great depths. Hilgard observes that he has found roots of grapevines at a depth of twenty-two feet below the surface, and quotes Aughey as having found roots of the native Shepherdia in Nebraska to a depth of fifty feet. Hilgard further declares that in California fibrous-rooted plants, such as wheat and barley, may descend in sandy soils from four to seven feet. Orchard trees in the arid West, grown properly, are similarly observed to send their roots down to great depths. In fact, it has become a custom in many arid regions where the soils are easily penetrable to say that the root system of a tree corresponds in extent and branching to the part of the tree above ground.

Now, it is to be observed that, generally, plants grown in dry climates send their roots straight down into the soil; whereas in humid climates, where the topsoil is quite moist and the subsoil is hard, roots branch out laterally and fill the upper foot or two of the soil. A great deal has been said and written about the danger of deep cultivation, because it tends to injure the roots that feed near the surface. However true this may be in humid countries, it is not vital in the districts primarily interested in dry-farming; and it is doubtful if the objection is as valid in humid countries as is often declared. True, deep cultivation, especially when performed near the plant or tree, destroys the surface-feeding roots, but this only tends to compel the deeper lying roots to make better use of the subsoil.

When, as in arid regions, the subsoil is fertile and furnishes a sufficient amount of water, destroying the surface roots is no handicap whatever. On the contrary, in times of drouth, the deep-lying roots feed and drink at their leisure far from the hot sun or withering winds, and the plants survive and arrive at rich maturity, while the plants with shallow roots wither and die or are so seriously injured as to produce an inferior crop. Therefore, in the system of dry-farming as developed in this volume, it must be understood that so far as the farmer has power, the roots must be driven downward into the soil, and that no injury needs to be apprehended from deep and vigorous cultivation.

One of the chief attempts of the dry-farmer must be to see to it that the plants root deeply. This can be done only by preparing the right kind of seed-bed and by having the soil in its lower depths well-stored with moisture, so that the plants may be invited to descend. For that reason, an excess of moisture in the upper soil when the young plants are rooting is really an injury to them.