Centre of Resources, Environment and Food Security, Department of Plant Nutrition, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
J Exp Bot. 2013 Mar;64(5):1181-92. doi: 10.1093/jxb/ers342. Epub 2012 Dec 18.
Root and rhizosphere research has been conducted for many decades, but the underlying strategy of root/rhizosphere processes and management in intensive cropping systems remain largely to be determined. Improved grain production to meet the food demand of an increasing population has been highly dependent on chemical fertilizer input based on the traditionally assumed notion of 'high input, high output', which results in overuse of fertilizers but ignores the biological potential of roots or rhizosphere for efficient mobilization and acquisition of soil nutrients. Root exploration in soil nutrient resources and root-induced rhizosphere processes plays an important role in controlling nutrient transformation, efficient nutrient acquisition and use, and thus crop productivity. The efficiency of root/rhizosphere in terms of improved nutrient mobilization, acquisition, and use can be fully exploited by: (1) manipulating root growth (i.e. root development and size, root system architecture, and distribution); (2) regulating rhizosphere processes (i.e. rhizosphere acidification, organic anion and acid phosphatase exudation, localized application of nutrients, rhizosphere interactions, and use of efficient crop genotypes); and (3) optimizing root zone management to synchronize root growth and soil nutrient supply with demand of nutrients in cropping systems. Experiments have shown that root/rhizosphere management is an effective approach to increase both nutrient use efficiency and crop productivity for sustainable crop production. The objectives of this paper are to summarize the principles of root/rhizosphere management and provide an overview of some successful case studies on how to exploit the biological potential of root system and rhizosphere processes to improve crop productivity and nutrient use efficiency.
根系和根际研究已经进行了几十年，但集约化种植系统中根系/根际过程和管理的基本策略在很大程度上仍有待确定。为了满足不断增长的人口对粮食的需求而提高粮食产量，高度依赖于基于传统的“高投入、高产出”观念的化肥投入，这导致了肥料的过度使用，而忽视了根系或根际在有效动员和获取土壤养分方面的生物潜力。根系对土壤养分资源的探索和根系诱导的根际过程在控制养分转化、有效养分获取和利用以及作物生产力方面发挥着重要作用。通过以下方式，可以充分利用根系/根际在改善养分动员、获取和利用方面的效率：（1）操纵根系生长（即根系发育和大小、根系结构和分布）；（2）调节根际过程（即根际酸化、有机阴离子和酸性磷酸酶分泌、养分的局部应用、根际相互作用以及利用高效作物基因型）；（3）优化根区管理，使根系生长和土壤养分供应与种植系统中养分的需求同步。实验表明，根系/根际管理是提高养分利用效率和作物生产力以实现可持续作物生产的有效途径。本文的目的是总结根系/根际管理的原则，并概述一些成功的案例研究，说明如何利用根系和根际过程的生物潜力来提高作物生产力和养分利用效率。
