Construction of a large-scale semi-field facility to study genotypic differences in deep root growth and resources acquisition

摘要

BackgroundRoots are vital organs for plants, and the effective use of resources from the soil is important for yield stability. However, phenotypic variation in root traits among crop genotypes is mostly unknown and field screening of root development is costly and labour demanding. As a consequence, new methods are needed to investigate root traits of fully grown crops under field conditions, particularly roots in the deeper soil horizons.