Root morphological traits and distribution in direct-seeded rice under dense planting with reduced nitrogen

Water and nutrient absorption from soil by crops mainly depend on the morphological traits and distribution of the crop roots. Dense planting with reduced nitrogen is a sustainable strategy for improving grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency. However, there is little information on the effects of dense planting with reduced nitrogen on direct-seeded inbred rice. Two-year field experiments were conducted with minirhizotron techniques to characterize the root morphological traits and distributions under different nitrogen application rates and sowing densities in two representative inbred rice varieties, Huanghuazhan (HHZ) and Yuenongsimiao (YNSM), grown under three nitrogen application rates (N0: 0 kg ha(–1), LN: 135 kg ha(-1), HN: 180 kg ha(–1)) and two sowing densities (LD: 18.75 kg ha(−1), HD: 22.5 kg ha(−1)). Our study showed that dense planting with low nitrogen improved grain yield partly due to the increased panicle number. The higher sowing density with low nitrogen significantly affected the total root number (TRN), total root length (TRL), total root surface area (TRSA), and total root volume (TRV). There was a significant positive correlation between grain yield and TRL in the 10–20-cm soil layer (P < 0.05). The root morphological indexes were positively correlated with dry matter accumulation (P < 0.05) and negatively correlated with nitrogen content (P < 0.05) at the maturity stage. This study showed that a high sowing density with low nitrogen application can improve root morphology and distribution and increase grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency in direct-seeded inbred rice.