Index >> Growth of Microorganism >> Rhizosphere and Phyllosphere

Rhizosphere and Phyllosphere - Rhizosphere is the region of the soil immediately surrounding the roots of a plant. Some authors include the root surface rhizoplane also under rhizosphere. From an operational viewpoint rhizosphere can be defined as the region extending a few millimeters from the root surface in which the microbial population of soil is influenced by the chemical activities of plant.

The major effect is quantitative: the numbers of microorganisms in the rhizosphere usually is more than in the neighbouring soil.
There is also qualitative effect: short Gram negative rods predominate in the rhizosphere, while Gram positive rods and coccoid forms are less numerous in the rhizosphere than elsewhere in the soil.