Acta Agronomica Hungarica
Volume/Issue:
Volume 53: Issue 2
Electrical capacitance of roots in relation to plant electrodes, measuring frequency and root media
Authors: K. Rajkai 1 , K. R. Végh 2 and T. Nacsa 3
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  • 1 Research Institute of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Budapest, Hungary
  • 2 Research Institute of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Budapest, Hungary
  • 3 N-Telekom Co. Ltd., Kiskunhalas, Hungary
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1556/AAgr.53.2005.2.8
Page Count:
197–210
Publication Date:
01 Aug 2005
Online Publication Date:
19 Sep 2005
Restricted access

The electrical capacitance method was applied for the examination of living root systems in a pot experiment. The measured root capacitances gave an unambiguous indication of the development of root mass and length. The root capacitances measured using needle and clamp plant electrodes were closely similar when the roots of whole plants were placed in water, while increasing differences were observed with a decrease in soil water saturation. The difference in capacitance between the plant electrodes is outlined by interpreting the action mechanism of the clamp electrode. The capacitance and electrical impedance spectra (30 Hz-1 MHz) were determined for roots in soil, for pieces of roots washed free of soil, and for the soil itself. The root capacitance was smaller than that of the soil and higher than that of root pieces at 1 kHz, while the capacitance of the soil became equal to that of roots in soil at about 2 kHz. This calls attention to the importance of the measuring frequency when determining root capacitance. A capacitor model with two dielectric media is proposed besides Dalton's model in order to interpret the behaviour of root and soil capacitances. However, its validity requires further verification.

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Cover Acta Agronomica Hungarica
Acta Agronomica Hungarica
Print ISSN:
0238-0161
Online ISSN:
1588-2527
Keywords:
plant electrode; plant electrode; plant electrode; frequency dependence; root-soil capacitance model