Root system characteristics under different water regimes in three cereal species

Abstract

Water stress such as drought and waterlogging is considered to be a major limiting factor in crop production. Roots play important roles in crop adaptation to water stress. This study aimed to characterize the vertical root distribution patterns and analyze the root-shoot relationships of different cereal species with different water requirements in response to different soil moisture conditions. Sorghum, maize, and rice were grown under 5% w/w soil moisture content (SMC5), 20% w/w soil moisture content (SMC20) and in waterlogged soil (WL) for 35 days using root box pin-board method. For sorghum and maize, the optimal soil water condition was SMC20 which produced the greatest shoot and root growth, while rice had greatest shoot and root growth under WL. Sorghum significantly increased root to shoot ratio in both water stress conditions, suggesting that sorghum prioritizes carbon partitioning of assimilates towards the roots. Although whole root dry weight and total root length were reduced by water stress, vertical distribution of root traits varied with soil water conditions and promoted root response was observed in specific soil layer. A highly positive relationship between root and shoot traits was observed in rice, suggesting that root and shoot trait responses are coupled with changing soil water conditions. Further studies are needed to confirm root architectural changes focusing on different root component traits as well as other root traits related to root architectural structure.