Root traits contributing to plant productivity under drought

By L. Comas, Steven R. Becker, V. Cruz, P. Byrne, D. Dierig. Frontiers in Plant Science, 2013

1,385 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Geneticists and breeders are positioned to breed plants with root traits that improve productivity under drought. However, a better understanding of root functional traits and how traits are related to whole plant strategies to increase crop productivity under different drought conditions is needed. Root traits associated with maintaining plant productivity under drought include small fine root diameters, long specific root length, and considerable root length density, especially at depths in soil with available water. In environments with late season water deficits, small xylem diameters in targeted seminal roots save soil water deep in the soil profile for use during crop maturation and result in improved yields. Capacity for deep root growth and large xylem diameters in deep roots may also improve root acquisition of water when ample water at depth is available. Xylem pit anatomy that makes xylem less “leaky” and prone to cavitation warrants further exploration holding promise that such traits may improve plant productivity in water-limited environments without negatively impacting yield under adequate water conditions. Rapid resumption of root growth following soil rewetting may improve plant productivity under episodic drought. Genetic control of many of these traits through breeding appears feasible. Several recent reviews have covered methods for screening root traits but an appreciation for the complexity of root systems (e.g., functional differences between fine and coarse roots) needs to be paired with these methods to successfully identify relevant traits for crop improvement. Screening of root traits at early stages in plant development can proxy traits at mature stages but verification is needed on a case by case basis that traits are linked to increased crop productivity under drought. Examples in lesquerella (Physaria) and rice (Oryza) show approaches to phenotyping of root traits and current understanding of root trait genetics for breeding.

Subfields: Plant Science, Soil Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/561e8a62bd8e752ccb09f99ed5380b6b24cddbed

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Citations in the corpus

Impact of Combined Abiotic and Biotic Stresses on Plant Growth and Avenues for Crop Improvement by Exploiting Physio-morphological Traits (2017, background): “Several studies have reported quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with RSA under drought stress (Comas et al., 2013).”
Physiological responses to drought stress in wild relatives of wheat: implications for wheat improvement (2017, background): “Drought or water deficit is an edaphic stress that affects plant growth and dramatically limits agricultural productivity in many parts of the world (Comas et al. 2013).”
Maize and soybean root front velocity and maximum depth in Iowa, USA (2018, background): “, 1998), and nutrient availability (Lynch, 2007; Comas et al., 2013; Soylu et al., 2014).”
How tree roots respond to drought (2015, background): “To date, Brunner et al., 2009; McCormack et al., 2012; Comas et al., 2013; Bardgett et al., 2014).”
Root traits are related to plant water-use among rangeland Mediterranean species (2017, background): “As reported by Schenk & Jackson (2005) and Comas et al. (2013), investment in deep root biomass appeared to be a main driver of plants’ abilities to take up water in dry conditions since it is positively correlated with ETs; this allowed deep rooted species to maintain ET when water supply is…”
Bacterial-mediated drought tolerance: Current and future prospects (2016, background): “Specific root traits associated with maintaining plant productivity under drought conditions include increases in numbers of roots with smaller diameters and a deeper root system (Blum, 1988, 2011; Addington et al., 2006; Pemán et al., 2006; Chirino et al., 2008; Comas et al., 2013).”