Water uptake by soya-bean roots as affected by their depth and by soil water content

Abstract

SUMMARY: A field experiment was made to determine water uptake patterns of soya beans and water use and to compare relative effectiveness of roots at various depths in the profile.Depth of water extraction by the root systems increased with rooting depth. Water uptake rates decreased with soil water content at all soil depths and the soil water content at which roots extracted almost no water increased with depth. The maximum rate of uptake of the deep roots was greater, per unit of length, than shallow roots.