Effects of root separation on nutrient uptake of wheat and occurrence of powdery mildew under wheat-fababean intercropping

A pot experiment was conducted to study the effects of root separation on wheat growth,nutrient uptake and occurrence of powdery mildew in wheat and fababean intercropping.The results showed that wheat shoot biomass and the amounts of N,P,K uptake were higher without root separation(I) than those with either mesh separation(M) or solid separation(P).Root separation also affected the occurrence of powdery mildew of wheat.Both infected leaf ratio and disease index of wheat powdery mildew followed the order of no root separation(I) mesh separation(M) solid separation(P),indicating that the growth of wheat was enhanced and the resistance to powdery mildew of wheat was improved due to the interaction of roots.