Application of electrical capacitance measurement for in situ monitoring of competitive interactions between maize and weed plants

Applicability of root electrical capacitance (EC) measurement for monitoring of crop–weed competition was studied in a pot experiment. Maize ( Zea mays L.) was grown both alone and with Echinochloa crus-galli or Abutilon theophrasti in different densities with regular measurement of root EC. Plants were harvested 42 days after planting to determine above- and belowground biomass. Depending on weed density, E. crus-galli - A. theophrasti interaction reduced the root EC of maize by 22–66% and 3–57%, respectively. Competitive effect of crop on weeds and intraspecific competition among weeds could also be detected by EC values: E. crus-galli was less sensitive both to the presence of maize and to intraspecific competition than A. theophrasti . Strong linear correlations between root dry mass and root EC for crop and weeds (with R 2 from 0.901 to 0.956) were obtained by regression analyses at the end of the experiment. EC monitoring informed us on the emergence time of competition: E. crus-galli interfered with maize root growth a week earlier then A. theophrasti , and increasing weed densities accelerated the emergence of competition. In conclusion, the simple, non-destructive EC method should be considered a potential in situ technique for pot studies on crop–weed competition, which may partially substitute the intrusive techniques commonly used in agricultural researches.

• Publication year

  2016

• Venue

  Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research

• Publication date

  2016-06-01

• Fields of study

  Agricultural and Food Sciences, Biology

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.5424/SJAR/2016142-7562
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Does temperature regulate light quality effects on Abutilon theophrasti?

  2015cited by this paper
• Eco-biology and management of Echinochloa crus-galli

  2015cited by this paper
• Improved wheat grain yield by a new method of root selection

  2014cited by this paper
• Wheat root diversity and root functional characterization

  2014cited by this paper
• Uncommon selection by root system size increases barley yield

  2014cited by this paper
• Crop–weed competition rather than temperature limits the population establishment of two annual C4 weeds at the edge of their northern range

  2014cited by this paper
• Electrical capacitance as a rapid and non-invasive indicator of root length.

  2013cited by this paper
• Mechanisms of plant competition for nutrients, water and light

  2013cited by this paper
• Role of phase angle measurement in electrical impedance spectroscopy

  2013cited by this paper
• Competition for Nutrients between Cold-Tolerant Maize and Weeds

  2013cited by this paper
• Electrical capacitance of bean (Vicia faba) root systems was related to tissue density—a test for the Dalton Model

  2013cited by this paper
• Plant competition, temporal niches and implications for productivity and adaptability to climate change in water-limited environments

  2013cited by this paper
• Electrical impedance and capacitance method: A new approach for detection of functional aspects of arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization in maize

  2013cited by this paper
• Effects of water regime, nitrogen fertilization, and rice plant density on growth and reproduction of lowland weed Echinochloa crus-galli

  2013cited by this paper
• A new physical interpretation of plant root capacitance

  2012cited by this paper
• An appraisal of the electrical resistance method for assessing root surface area

  2010cited by this paper
• Estimating root biomass in Salix viminalis × Salix schwerinii cultivar “Olof” using the electrical capacitance method

  2010cited by this paper
• Drought tolerance of barley varieties in relation to their root system size

  2010cited by this paper
• Estimating root mass in maize genotypes using the electrical capacitance method

  2008cited by this paper
• Comparative Nitrogen Uptake and Distribution in Corn and Velvetleaf (Abutilon Theophrasti)

  2007cited by this paper
• Electrical measurement of tree root absorbing surfaces by the earth impedance method: 2. Verification based on allometric relationships and root severing experiments.

  2006cited by this paper
• Predicting biomass partitioning to root versus shoot in corn and velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti)

  2006cited by this paper
• Electrical measurement of the absorption surfaces of tree roots by the earth impedance method: 1. Theory.

  2006cited by this paper
• The effect of semi-dwarf genes on root system size in field-grown barley

  2006cited by this paper
• ELECTRICAL CAPACITANCE OF ROOTS IN RELATION TO PLANT ELECTRODES, MEASURING FREQUENCY AND ROOT MEDIA

  2005influential reference
• Analysis of Root Growth by Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS)

  2005cited by this paper
• Estimating root mass in young hybrid poplar trees using the electrical capacitance method

  2004cited by this paper
• Comparative Ecophysiology of Grain Sorghum and Abutilon theophrasti in Monoculture and in Mixture

  2002cited by this paper
• Understanding maize–weed competition: resource competition, light quality and the whole plant

  2001cited by this paper
• Integrated root system age in relation to plant nutrient uptake activity

  1998cited by this paper
• Competition between maize and barnyard grass (Echinochloa crus-galli) at different moisture regimes.

  1998cited by this paper
• Estimating root mass in maize using a portable capacitance meter

  1998cited by this paper
• In-situ root extent measurements by electrical capacitance methods

  1995cited by this paper
• Root growth and the relative importance of root and shoot competition in interactions between rice (Oryza sativa) and Echinochloa crus‐galli

  1992cited by this paper
• Case History for Weed Competition/Population Ecology: Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) in Corn (Zea mays)

  1992cited by this paper
• The biology of Canadian weeds. 90. Abutilon theophrasti.

  1988cited by this paper
• The biology of Canadian weeds

  1979cited by this paper
• The World’s Worst Weeds. Distribution and Biology

  1977cited by this paper
• The relationship between electric capacitance and some other parameters of plant roots

  1972cited by this paper

• Field phenotyping of plant roots by electrical capacitance – a standardized methodological protocol for application in plant breeding: a Review

  2020cites this paper
• Sensing the electrical properties of roots: A review

  2020cites this paper
• Application of Electrical Capacitance Method for Prediction of Plant Root Mass and Activity in Field-Grown Crops

  2018cites this paper
• Electrical impedance phase angle as an indicator of plant root stress

  2018cites this paper