perform well at their early growth stage under non-flooded
water regimes when the soil is maintained at field capacity,
provided there is no limitation of soil nutrients. This did
not reveal, however, how plants, and more specifically their
roots, will respond at later growth stages under these
conditions, and whether associated biotic factors such as
soil microbial density would have some synergistic effects
on roots’ adaptation and on yield-contributing factors.
Given that root length density can influence not only
root-microbial interactions but also the physiological
activity of roots (Mishra et al. 2006), trials were conducted
under semi-field conditions, i.e., in an open-sided greenhouse.
This pot study was designed to assess the differences
in soil biota and in their effects when the reduced
water applications associated with SRI management are
varied in timing and amount. Specifically, the experiment
studied the morphological and physiological responses of
roots, and the way that certain yield-contributing parameters
vary under alternative water regimes and different soil
conditions.