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Background and aims <p>High soil strength that develops in sandy soils through compaction and hardsetting processes can severely restrict root growth, reducing access to limited resources. However, it is unclear how variation in soil moisture within and between seasons impacts the role of hardsetting in these soils, and the subsequent restrictions to rooting depth and ultimately crop production.</p> Methods <p>To investigate root growth in hardsetting soil under controlled moisture conditions, soil columns were constructed with a subsurface compacted soil layer that hardset upon drying. A ripping treatment was applied to this soil in half of the pots, and wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> cv. Scepter) was grown in these soil columns under three contrasting watering regimes for 42&#xa0;days. Soil strength was measured with a lab-based penetrometer prior to dismantling the soil columns to assess root distribution.</p> Results <p>The compacted soil layer hardset at a water content close to wilting point. Only where dry conditions were maintained did the compacted layer provide a physical barrier to root growth accessing deeper soil water. In these soils, ripping resulted in a significant increase in deep root growth and a 39% increase in shoot biomass. Temporal hardsetting, induced by a wet-dry watering cycle did not significantly alter the distribution of roots.</p> Conclusions <p>Hardsetting restricts root access to deeper water only under prolonged dry conditions, indicating that its field impact is strongly moderated by moisture dynamics. This interaction likely explains variable crop responses to deep ripping in sandy, hardsetting soils.</p>

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Cereal root growth in a sandy soil with a hardsetting subsurface horizon was restricted only under dry conditions

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年10月8日

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  • Stephen Lang,
  • Timothy Cavagnaro,
  • David Chittleborough,
  • Ehsan Tavakkoli,
  • Nigel Wilhelm

摘要

Background and aims

High soil strength that develops in sandy soils through compaction and hardsetting processes can severely restrict root growth, reducing access to limited resources. However, it is unclear how variation in soil moisture within and between seasons impacts the role of hardsetting in these soils, and the subsequent restrictions to rooting depth and ultimately crop production.

Methods

To investigate root growth in hardsetting soil under controlled moisture conditions, soil columns were constructed with a subsurface compacted soil layer that hardset upon drying. A ripping treatment was applied to this soil in half of the pots, and wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. Scepter) was grown in these soil columns under three contrasting watering regimes for 42 days. Soil strength was measured with a lab-based penetrometer prior to dismantling the soil columns to assess root distribution.

Results

The compacted soil layer hardset at a water content close to wilting point. Only where dry conditions were maintained did the compacted layer provide a physical barrier to root growth accessing deeper soil water. In these soils, ripping resulted in a significant increase in deep root growth and a 39% increase in shoot biomass. Temporal hardsetting, induced by a wet-dry watering cycle did not significantly alter the distribution of roots.

Conclusions

Hardsetting restricts root access to deeper water only under prolonged dry conditions, indicating that its field impact is strongly moderated by moisture dynamics. This interaction likely explains variable crop responses to deep ripping in sandy, hardsetting soils.