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Title: SUGARCANE YIELD AND RHIZOSPHERE CHARACTERISTICS IN FLOODED ORGANIC SOIL DETERMINED FROM A POT STUDY

Author
item Morris, Dolen
item Tai, Peter
item STRUVE, D - S FLA WATER MANAGEMENT DI

Submitted to: American Society of Sugar Cane Technologists
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/30/2004
Publication Date: 6/30/2004
Citation: Morris, D.R., Tai, P.Y., Struve, D. 2004. Sugarcane yield and rhizosphere characteristics in flooded organic soil determined from a pot. American Society Of Sugar Cane Technologists. Vol. 24. P. 18-30.

Interpretive Summary: Organic soil in the Everglades Agricultural Area are subsiding at 1.3 cm/yr. Aerobic soil microorganisms are the primary cause of soil oxidation, which leads to soil loss. In the process of soil oxidation, nutrients such as NH4, NO3, and PO4 are released. One way to reduce subsidence is to flood the soils. Flooding often reduces crop yields, but sugarcane has been found to be one of the most tolerant to high water tables. An experiment was conducted to determine how sugarcane yields are influenced by rhizosphere microbial populations and chemistry. Five sugarcane genotypes were grown under three water table levels (0, 15, and 30 cm from the soil surface) in 38 L plastic buckets in the field. Correlations between sugar yields and rhizosphere parameters showed there was a negative correlation between total sugar in the plant and total soluble organic carbon in the soil. It appears that some sugarcane genotypes are inefficient at carbon storage under flooded conditions, which could be related to crop yield reductions. Levels of pH, total PO4, NH4, and NO3 in the soil were neither affected by water table or cultivar nor correlated with any plant parameter.

Technical Abstract: Growing sugarcane (interspecific hybrids of Saccharum spp.) under flooded conditions is an important management tool for decreasing soil subsidence in Histosols. But flooding often reduces crop yield. Since anoxic stressed plants exude substances from their roots, flood tolerant and non tolerant plants will likely show biological and chemical differences in the rhizosphere. A field experiment was conducted in 38 L plastic pails to determine the relationship between sugarcane yields and rhizosphere characteristics under flooded conditions. Five sugarcane genotypes were grown in the field for 10 months under three water table levels (0, 15, and 30 cm from the soil surface). Cane dry matter and sugar yields were affected by genotype and those yields were reduced when pots were flooded. Across water table treatments, there was a negative correlation between sugar yields and soluble organic carbon (SOC) in the rhizosphere indicating inefficient storage of carbohydrates under flooding. Levels of pH, total PO4, NH4, and NO2/NO3 in the soil were neither affected by water table or cultivar nor correlated with any plant parameter. Exudation of SOC in the rhizosphere may be a good indicator of sugarcane tolerance to high water tables.