Micromorphology of the Rhizosphere

The thin sections (<25μ) prepared from the resin impregnated blocks, both of rhizosphere and control soil were examined under microscope. The fabric of control soil was found to be characterised by the presence of large grain and irregular orthovughs, sporadically distributed in the fabric with high grain/plasma ratio. The proportion of plasmic materials and the number of microvoids increased in the vicinity of root. The S-matrix of the rhizosphere fabric was described as integrated humicol-argicol. Insepic plosmic fabric extending up to 250μ from the rhizoplane has been detected. The root hairs penetrated the matrix interpedally and intrapedally. No preferential orientation of the fine grains were noticed on the root surface, although very fine fabric components of inorganic and organic sources intermixed with root hairs (fluoresced brown), adhered with partially decayed cortical root cells forming ‘micro-aggregates’ or ‘clusters’. This special fabric feature was described as “spongy mullicol’.