Simulation of Rooting Profile Using Soil Properties, Crop Characteristics, and Climatic Data

Observation and simulation of root development provides information on the soil resource utilization. Studying root growth with the support of a model helps envisage time-course changes in root development under varying environmental conditions. The quantitative root distribution with depth and over time is very essential for estimating the resource utilization. A modeling exercise was performed to characterize root development of five major crops in the semi-arid tropics (pigeonpea, cowpea, groundnut, sorghum, and pearl millet) using weather data, soil properties, and crop parameters. The model simulated the rooting profile for the investigated cereals and legumes adequately with the except ion of pigeonpea. Pigeonpea showed a characteristic behavior of deep rooting nature on an Alfisol. However, the model was unable to simulate the crop'> ability of penetrating and spreading it> roots extensively into soil irrespective of a higher bulk density