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Agriculture and Turf Group
FAQ
What is a rhizosphere?

The soil around the roots – well, that’s the short version. The rhizosphere (see rhizosphere article) is the soil that is in direct communication or influenced directly or
indirectly by the roots through root secretions, exudates, and the sloughing off of
dead root cells / root hairs. By contrast all other soil is called bulk soil. The
rhizosphere contains hundreds to thousands of times more microbial life than bulk
soil. Some trivia:

  • The microbial population density in the rhizosphere varies greatly with the
    plants maturity stage.
  • The pH of the rhizosphere soil differs from the bulk soil and also differs along
    the length of the root – being more acidic at the growing end. It will be higher
    for ammoniacal versus nitrate supplied nitrogen.
  • There is an electric current that circulates the roots inward at the growth end
    and outward in the older root zone (Pilet et al., 1983).
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