[Dimensional fractal of post-paddy wheat root architecture]

To evaluate whether crop rooting system was directionally dependent, a field digitizer was used to measure post-paddy wheat root architectures. The acquired data was transferred to Pro-E, in which virtual root architecture was reconstructed and projected to a series of planes each separated in 10° apart. Fractal dimension and fractal abundance of root projections in all the 18 planes were calculated, revealing a distinctive architectural distribution of wheat root in each direction. This strongly proved that post-paddy wheat root architecture was directionally dependent. From seedling to turning green stage, fractal dimension of the 18 projections fluctuated significantly, illustrating a dynamical root developing process in the period. At the jointing stage, however, fractal indices of wheat root architecture resumed its regularity in each dimension. This wheat root architecture recovered its dimensional distinctness. The proposed method was applicable for precision modeling field state root distribution in soil.