The Effect of Fluctuations of Soil Moisture on Root Development during the Establishment Phase of Sweetpotato

The effect of fluctuation in soil moisture on the root development of sweetpotato was studied during its establishment period, i.e., from planting to about one month after planting. The number of leaves, shoot dry weight and vine length were suppressed significantly by deficient moisture but the same were markedly increased by excessive moisture regardless of the time of occurrence relative to the initial development of the plant. In terms of its roots, the number and total length of the root system components were either increased or decreased depending upon the soil moisture regime in which they were subjected immediately prior to the time of sampling. Deficient soil moisture reduced the number and total length of the root system components while excessive moisture caused notable stimulation. Continuous exposure to normal soil moisture caused substantial reduction in the number of adventitious roots and consequent depression in total length but this could be attributed to sink competition among adventitious roots. Under fluctuating soil moisture, normal moisture content appeared to restore the aberrant development of the roots caused by deficient or excessive levels. The suppressed formation and elongation of the root system components under deficient soil moisture was alleviated when the soil moisture condition was changed to normal. On the other hand, the stimulated root formation and elongation in the excessive moisture was abated when the normal soil moisture condition prevailed afterwards. The result was the opposite when the soil moisture condition was reversed, i.e., normal then followed by either deficient or excessive soil moisture