Hydrological Behaviour and Rooting Patterns of Some Grass Species in Vertisol

In a study, five grass species, namely Vertiveria zizanoides (vetiver), Cymbopogon martinii, Panicum maximum, Saccharum munja and Dichanthium annulatum were selected to assess their suitability as vegetative barriers for reducing soil erosion and enhancing in situ water conservation in Vertisols. The lowest soil loss and runoff and highest infiltration rate were observed from the plots of vetiver. The plots with Dichanthium annulatum also showed almost same magnitude of soil loss, runoff and infiltration rate. This was probably due to deep penetration of roots and formation of dense base at the soil surface thus providing obstruction to water flow. However, from the point of view of fodder and commercial value, the order of preference for adoption would be Dichanthium annulatum, Panicum maximum, Cymbopogon martinii and Vetiveria zizanoides. Dichanthium sp. has an edge over Vetiveria sp. assessed on overall performance. Rooting pattern of these four grass species were found to form the dense base at soil surface thereby retarding the runoff. This facilitates the rain water to percolate to deeper layers. Equations have been developed to estimate their root biomass density. Since there is very little deviation between observed and predicted root biomass density at different time intervals these equations can be considered valid for the region.