Abstract: Aimed to better understand the significance of soil microenvironment in crop growth, a pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of rhizosphere soil permeability on the water and nutrient uptake by maize. Under three irrigation levels (600, 400, and 200 ml per pot), three treatments of soil aeration (no tube aeration as the control, tube aeration every two days, and tube aeration every four days) were installed, and the physiological indices of maize were measured. Under the same irrigation levels, soil aeration increased the plant height, leaf area, chlorophyll contents, promoted nutrient adsorption and increased root vitality markedly. At elongation stage, treatment tube aeration every four days had the highest root vitality (8.24 mg·g^-1·h^-1) under the irrigation level 600 ml per pot, being significantly higher (66.7%) than that (4.94 mg·g^-1·h^-1) of the control. Soil aeration had no significant effects on the transpiration rate of maize, indicating that rhizosphere soil aeration could raise water and nutrient use efficiency, and improve maize growth.

Key words: potted maize, rhizosphere permeability, water utilization, nutrient absorption