An overview of rhizosphere processes related with plant nutrition in.pdfVIP

Plant and Soil 260: 89–99, 2004. ? 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 89 An overview of rhizosphere processes related with plant nutrition in major cropping systems in China F. Zhang1,2, J. Shen1, L. Li1 X. Liu1 1Department of Plant Nutrition, China Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100094, P.R. China. 2Corresponding author? Received 7 October 2002. Accepted in revised form 31 October 2003 Key words: cropping system, intercropping, nutrient use efficiency, rhizosphere processes, rotation, soil nutrients Abstract Rhizosphere processes of individual plants have been widely investigated since 1904 when the term ‘rhizosphere was first put forward. However, little attention has been paid to rhizosphere effects at an agro-ecosystem level. This paper presents recent research on the rhizosphere processes in relation to plant nutrition in main cropping systems in China. In the peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)/maize (Zea mays L.) intercropping system, maize was found to improve the Fe nutrition of peanut through influencing its rhizosphere processes, suggesting an important role of phytosiderophores released from Fe-deficient maize. Intercropping between maize and faba bean (Vicia faba L.) was found to improve nitrogen and phosphorus uptake in the two crops compared with corresponding sole crop. There was a higher land equivalent ratio (LER) in the intercropping system of maize and faba bean than the treatment of no root interactions between the two crops. The increased yield of maize intercropped with faba bean resulted from an interspecific facilitation in nutrient uptake, depending on interspecific root interactions of the two crops. In the rotation system of rice (Oryza sativa L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crops, Mn deficiency in wheat was caused by excessive Mn uptake by rice and Mn leaching from topsoil to subsoil due to periodic cycles of flooding and drying. However, wheat geno