A Chamber Designed for Continuous, Long-term Monitoring of Legume Root Respiration

Abstract

A chamber is described which allows for continuous, long-term monitoring of legume root respiration by infrared gas analysis of CO₂ production. The chamber can accommodate either an automatic or manually operated irrigation system and is constructed from readily available raw materials. A series of trials throughout the entire growth period (66 d) of cowpea cv. K 2809 have demonstrated that vegetative growth and reproductive development are closely similar for plants rooted in the respiration chamber and those grown in standard pots using conventional culture techniques. Ontogenetic changes in root respiration rate were recorded and are discussed in relation to vegetative and reproductive periods of plant growth.