110 Development and Activities of Roots of Crop Plants. 



Table 40. — Loss of water and nitrates, April 1 to June IS. 



Container and crop 

 development. 



No. 3. Potatoes, 3 stalks, be- 

 ginning to blossom; 10 tu- 

 bers 3 to 10 mm. in diam- 

 eter; roots unevenly distrib- 

 uted to a depth of 1.5 ft., 

 none deeper, as abundant 

 in fertilized layer as else- 

 where and more profusely 

 branched. 



No. 4. Potatoes, 3 stalks, 

 more leaves than in No. 3; 

 eight tubers 1 to 30 mm. in 

 diameter; roots fairly abun- 

 dant to 1.5 ft., less abun- 

 dant to 2 ft., below which 

 none penetrated. 



No. 5. Potatoes, 2 stalks, be- 

 ginning to blossom; 8 tubers 

 2 to 20 mm. in diameter; 

 roots fairly abundant to 1.5 

 ft., some reaching a depth 

 of 2 ft. 



No. 6. Barley, 67 stalks 

 with heads, many small 

 stalks without heads; roots 

 abundant to 1.5 ft., fairly 

 abundant to 2 ft., below 

 which they were sparse. 



No. 7. Barley, 60 stalks 

 with heads, smaller stalks 

 without heads, not so well 

 developed as in 6 and 8; 

 roots very abundant to 2 ft., 

 below which none was found. 



No. 8. Barley, 75 stalks 

 with heads, similar to No. 

 6; roots abundant and even- 

 ly distributed to 2.5 ft., only 

 more branched in 2 to 2.5 

 ft. layer. 



Depth. 



feet. 



to 0.5 

 0.5 to 1 



1 to 1.5 

 1.5 to 2 



2 to 2.5 



to 0.5 

 0.5 to 1 



1 to 1.5 

 1.5 to 2 



2 to 2.5 



to 0.5 

 0.5 to 1 



1 to 1.5 

 1.5 to 2 



2 to 2.5 



to 0.5 

 0.5 to 1 



1 to 1.5 

 1.5 to 2 



2 to 2.5 



to 0.5 

 0.5 to 1 



1 to 1.5 

 1.5 to 2 



2 to 2.5 



to 0.5 

 0.5 to 1 



1 to 1.5 

 1.5 to 2 



2 to 2.5 



Water-content. 



p. ct. 

 22.1 

 21.9 

 22.5 

 22.8 

 25.3 



25.9 

 25.3 

 22.0 

 21.8 

 23.8 



25.2 

 25.4 

 23.7 

 24.8 

 23.5 



29.0 

 25.6 

 24.7 

 24.4 

 23.6 



27.8 

 26.7 

 24.6 

 23.2 

 21.8 



28.4 

 23.8 

 24.0 

 24.8 

 22.4 



p. ct. 

 18.0 

 18.5 

 21.3 

 22.8 

 24.6 



20.8 

 20.9 

 20.2 

 20.6 

 22.9 



21.0 

 21.6 

 20.5 

 24.2 

 23.7 



15.7 

 13.5 

 19.0 

 20.4 

 22.6 



21.3 

 19.1 

 19.6 

 20.9 

 22.6 



14.4 

 15.1 

 16.6 

 18.2 

 20.7 



p. ct. 

 4.1 

 3.4 

 1.2 

 0.0 

 0.7 



5.1 

 »4.4 

 1.8 

 1.2 

 0.9 



»4.2 

 3.8 



i3.2 

 0.6 

 +0.2 



13.3 



212.1 



5.7 

 4.0 

 1.0 



6.5 

 "7.6 

 5.0 

 2.3 

 +0.8 



14.0 

 »8.7 



7.4 

 »6.6 



1.7 



Nitrate, parts per million. 



363.5 



361.7 



375.4 



371.0 



era 



185.0 



155.4 



405.0 



447.0 



185.0 



155.4 



408.7 



103.6 



274.0 



391.0 



143.5 



70.1 



286.4 



135. 



344.0 



168.3 



i Two liters of water were added to the soil at this depth during the growth of the plants. 

 » Seven liters of water added. 

 • Four liters of water added. 



while in some of the containers, especially No. 8, where the fertilized layer 

 was deep, the roots had penetrated well below 2 feet and had carried on 

 considerable absorption. Barley roots were active not only in absorbing 

 water, but they were also removing the nutrient in considerable amounts. 

 The loss at 2 to 2.5 feet depth (168.3 parts per million) is especially striking. 



The barley was ripe on July 1, the heads being well filled. However, it 

 was allowed to stand until July 9, when it was finally examined, along with 



