Chemical Examination of the Water of Flooded Rice Fields

Abstract

THE marked root destruction that affects the crop of rice fields of limeless meadow clay and limeless alkaline soil is well known. The damage can be attributed mainly to the toxic effect of hydrogen sulphide and other products of anaerobic fermentation processes¹ (for example, butyric acid). Protein decomposition and sulphate reduction produce hydrogen sulphide². The root-rot is much increased in horizontal roots produced chiefly by nitrogen excess, anaerobic conditions or soil defects. The roots just beneath the soil are fully exposed to the toxic products of the soil-biological processes below the surface.