Perspex® pots – a novel method to display the impact of soil constraints and improvements on sugarcane root systems

The size and distribution of the sugarcane root system is strongly affected by the availability of water, oxygen and nutrients, presence of soil constraints, pathogenic and beneficial soil microbial organisms and farm management practices. To highlight the potential impact on root growth and distribution of different soil constraints (compaction and pachymetra root rot) and improvements (increased labile carbon [C] through the addition of mill mud), single-eye setts (variety Q240A) were grown in Perspex? pots containing a typical Herbert soil.