TY - JOUR

T1 - Root architecture for improved resource capture

T2 - Trade-offs in complex environments

AU - Van Der Bom, Frederik J.T.

AU - Williams, Alwyn

AU - Bell, Michael J.

N1 - Funding Information: The authors acknowledge funding from the Grains Research and Development Corporation of Australia (Project no. UOQ1805-005RTX) that enabled this research to be conducted. We thank Pax Blamey for supportive discussions and suggestions, and we extend our gratitude to an anonymous reviewer who provided helpful feedback and ideas based on an earlier version of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved.

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - Root architecture is a promising breeding target for developing resource-efficient crops. Breeders and plant physiologists have called for root ideotypes that have narrow, deep root systems for improved water and nitrate capture, or wide, shallower root systems for better uptake of less mobile topsoil nutrients such as phosphorus. Yet evidence of relationships between root architecture and crop yield is limited. Many studies focus on the response to a single constraint, despite the fact that crops are frequently exposed to multiple soil constraints. For example, in dryland soils under no-till management, topsoil nutrient stratification is an emergent profile characteristic, leading to spatial separation of water and nutrients as the soil profile dries. This results in spatio-temporal trade-offs between efficient resource capture and pre-defined root ideotypes developed to counter a single constraint. We believe there is need to identify and better understand trade-offs involved in the efficient capture of multiple, spatially disjunct soil resources. Additionally, how these trade-offs interact with genotype (root architecture), environment (soil constraints), and management (agronomy) are critical unknowns. We argue that identifying root traits that enable efficient capture of multiple soil resources under fluctuating environmental constraints is a key step towards meeting the challenges of global food security.

AB - Root architecture is a promising breeding target for developing resource-efficient crops. Breeders and plant physiologists have called for root ideotypes that have narrow, deep root systems for improved water and nitrate capture, or wide, shallower root systems for better uptake of less mobile topsoil nutrients such as phosphorus. Yet evidence of relationships between root architecture and crop yield is limited. Many studies focus on the response to a single constraint, despite the fact that crops are frequently exposed to multiple soil constraints. For example, in dryland soils under no-till management, topsoil nutrient stratification is an emergent profile characteristic, leading to spatial separation of water and nutrients as the soil profile dries. This results in spatio-temporal trade-offs between efficient resource capture and pre-defined root ideotypes developed to counter a single constraint. We believe there is need to identify and better understand trade-offs involved in the efficient capture of multiple, spatially disjunct soil resources. Additionally, how these trade-offs interact with genotype (root architecture), environment (soil constraints), and management (agronomy) are critical unknowns. We argue that identifying root traits that enable efficient capture of multiple soil resources under fluctuating environmental constraints is a key step towards meeting the challenges of global food security.

KW - Drought

KW - Nitrogen

KW - Phosphorus

KW - Resource interactions

KW - Root ideotypes

KW - Root morphology

KW - Root plasticity

KW - Rooting depth

KW - Shallow roots

KW - Water

U2 - 10.1093/jxb/eraa324

DO - 10.1093/jxb/eraa324

M3 - Review

AN - SCOPUS:85100051715

VL - 71

SP - 5752

EP - 5763

JO - Journal of Experimental Botany

JF - Journal of Experimental Botany

SN - 0022-0957

IS - 19

ER -