Capturing in-field root system dynamics with RootTracker

Area of Science:

• Plant science
• Agricultural engineering
• Climate change adaptation

Background:

• Root system architecture is crucial for crop resilience to environmental stresses like drought.
• Current methods for measuring in-field root growth are limited, hindering breeding efforts for stress tolerance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate the RootTracker, a novel technology for real-time, in-field monitoring of root system dynamics.
• To investigate the impact of water deficits on maize root growth and identify potential breeding targets for drought adaptation.

Main Methods:

• Developed RootTracker using 264 impedance touch sensors arranged around a seed to detect root proximity.
• Monitored root growth of commercial maize hybrids under field conditions with varying irrigation regimes.
• Analyzed changes in capacitance and resistance to infer root touching and growth patterns over time.

Main Results:

• RootTracker successfully captured dynamic root growth responses to water deficits in maize.
• Observed a 'priming response' where early water stress led to increased root growth later.
• Identified genotypic variations in root growth responses to drought, indicating breeding potential.

Conclusions:

• The RootTracker is an effective tool for in-field root growth monitoring and studying plant responses to environmental changes.
• Findings highlight the potential for breeding maize with enhanced root systems for improved drought tolerance.
• This technology can accelerate the development of climate-resilient crop cultivars.