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A novel P indicator to evaluate bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) genotypes to identify tolerance to phosphorus
Fabiano Sillo1, Christophe Salon2,3, Mickael Lamboeuf2,3
1National Research Council of Italy, Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection (CNR-IPSP), Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135 Torino, Italy.
Background And Aims:
Phosphorus (P) is a crucial macronutrient for plant growth that, despite its abundance in soils, is often a limiting factor in agricultural productivity, particularly for cereals such as wheat. In this study, the response of different wheat genotypes to two different levels of P was evaluated in a large trial encompassing 26 genotypes using two distinct root phenotyping platforms, ALSIA and 4PMI.
Methods:
Rhizotubes allowed non-invasive root phenotyping, revealing significant genotypic effects on biomass production and root system traits. Phosphorus acquisition and use efficiency of the wheat genotypes were estimated by using five different metrics.
Key Results:
A synthetic indicator for agronomic relevance integrating the efficiency metrics was established. Under optimal conditions, after 96 d, P acquisition efficiency (PAE) was inversely correlated with P utilization efficiency (PUE), suggesting an acquisition-use trade-off. Conversely, under low P conditions, both after 27 and 96 days PAE and PUE showed moderate positive correlations, indicating adaptive coordination to improve P utilization under scarcity.
Conclusions:
Overall, our findings highlighted the importance of root-target strategies in P efficiency in wheat, providing insights for breeders to enhance P deficiency tolerance in wheat.
