Deep-rooted pigeon pea promotes the water relations and survival of shallow-rooted finger millet during drought—Despite strong competitive interactions at ambient water availability
Title | Deep-rooted pigeon pea promotes the water relations and survival of shallow-rooted finger millet during drought—Despite strong competitive interactions at ambient water availability |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2020 |
Authors | Singh D., Mathimaran N., Boller T., Kahmen A. |
Journal | PLOS ONE |
Volume | 15 |
Start Page | 1 |
Issue | 2 |
End page | 22 |
Date Published | 02/2020 |
Type of Article | Journal |
Keywords | Common mycorrhizal network, Finger millet, Pigeon pea |
Abstract | Bioirrigation has been defined as the transfer of hydraulically lifted water by a deep-rooted plant to a neighbouring shallow-rooted plant which cannot access deep soil moisture. In this study, we tested if facilitative effects of bioirrigation or the competition for water dominate the interaction of two intercropped plants—deep-rooted pigeon pea (PP) and shallow-rooted finger millet (FM) before and during a drought. Additionally, we tested how the presence of a common mycorrhizal network (CMN) affects the balance between facilitative (i.e. bioirrigation) and competitive interactions between two intercropping species. Our results show that PP can indeed promote the water relations of FM during a drought event. Specifically, stomatal |
Original Publication | PLOS ONE |