Changes in crop trait plasticity with domestication history: Management practices matter

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Biology
• Ecology

Background:

• Crop domestication created trait syndromes optimized for high-input systems, potentially limiting plasticity.
• Modern agroecosystems require adaptable crops for heterogeneous nutrient availability.
• Understanding crop plasticity in root functional traits is crucial for nutrient acquisition in organic systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how domestication history influences functional trait plasticity in wheat.
• To assess the impact of soil amendments and intercropping on crop trait expression.
• To explore the role of crop genetic resources in nutrient management.

Main Methods:

• A common garden experiment with five wheat (Triticum aestivum) varietals.
• Factorial combination of amendment type (organic/inorganic) and cropping design (monoculture/intercropping).
• Bivariate, multivariate, and trait space analyses of leaf and root functional traits.

Main Results:

• Leaf and root traits varied significantly among wheat varietals.
• Amendment type had minimal impact on trait expression.
• Intercropping significantly altered root acquisitive strategies, irrespective of domestication history.
• Roots showed greater trait space occupation with increased domestication.

Conclusions:

• Wheat exhibits substantial leaf and root trait plasticity.
• Management practices, particularly intercropping, strongly influence crop trait expression.
• A functional trait-based approach is valuable for understanding plant-soil dynamics in organic farming.
• Crop genetic history plays a role in adapting to low-input, diversified agroecosystems.