Agriculture Commons^™

Spatio-Temporal Relationship Between Water Depletion And Root Distribution Patterns Of Centaurea Solstitialis And Two Native Perennials, Stephen L. Young, Guy B. Kyser, Jacob N. Barney, Victor P. Claassen, Joseph M. Ditomaso

West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte

In a 2-year field study, we quantified lateral root growth patterns and soil water depletion dynamics in the invasive annual Centaurea solstitialis and two native perennials, Elymus glaucus and Grindelia camporum. Centaurea solstitialis produced lateral roots most actively from early April to mid-June, during the late rosette to spiny seedhead stage while both root growth and water depletion were completed before flowering. In the wet year, roots were evenly distributed throughout the soil profile to 180 cm deep. Lack of deep soil moisture recharge in the second year restricted root distribution to shallow soil depths (< 60 cm). In contrast to C. solstitialis, …