Effects of rhizosphere ventilation on growth and root activity of potted maize

To aim at the problems of limited and defective aeration environment of potted crops, we conducted an experiment with three ventilation treatments (T1: ventilating root zone every three days; T2: ventilating root zone every five days; CK: no ventilation) to investigate the effects of different rhizosphere aeration environments on growth and root activity of potted maize. The results show that T1 and T2 treatments improve plant height, leaf area, chlorophyll content, dry matter accumulation of aboveground and underground parts of potted maize. T1, T2 treatments increase root-shoot ratio (RSR) and root activity (RA) compared with CK. RSR, RA of T1 and T2 are 1.27, 1.18 times, and 1.26, 1.54 times of those of CK in elongation stage. In heading stage, they are 1.18 and 1.09 times, 1.22 and 1.40 times. Rhizosphere ventilation also promotes absorption of nutrient of soil. The results mean that rhizosphere ventilation enhances root activity and increases crops growth.