A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE ROOTS OF AVENA FATUA AND A. STRIGOSA IN MIXED STANDS USING A 14C-LABELLING TECHNIQUE.

The article provides information on the comparative study of the distribution of the roots of Avena Fatua and A. Strigosa in Mixed stands using C-labelling technique. Mixtures of A. fatua L. and A. strigosa Schreb were found during the course of a study of the ecological combining ability of four species of Avena. Results showed that the root systems of Avena fatua and A. strigosa have markedly different distributions with depth in the soil and these differences are maintained in mixed stands of the two species. The autoradiographic technique is also described. This technique allows the identification of the roots of closely related species grown in mixtures.