Abstract
Plants are immobile organisms that require roots to efficiently and cost-effectively exploit their habitat for water and nutrients. Plant root systems are dynamic structures capable of altering root branching, root angle, and root growth rates determining overall architecture. This plasticity involves belowground plant-root mediated synergies coupled through a continuum of environmental interactions and endogenous developmental processes facilitating plants to adapt to favorable or adverse soil conditions. Plant root branching is paramount to ensure adequate access to soil water and nutrients. Although substantial resources have been devoted toward this goal, significant knowledge gaps exist. In well-studied systems such as rice and maize, it has become evident that root branching plays a significant role in the acquisition of nutrients and other soil-based resources. In these crop species, specific root branching traits that confer enhanced nutrient acquisition are well-characterized and are already being incorporated into breeding populations. In contrast, the understanding of root branching in root and tuber crop productivity has lagged behind. In this review article, we highlight what is known about root branching in root and tuber crops (RTCs) and mark new research directions, such as the use novel phenotyping methods, examining the changes in root morphology and anatomy under nutrient stress, and germplasm screening with enhanced root architecture for more efficient nutrient capture. These directions will permit a better understanding of the interaction between root branching and nutrient acquisition in these globally important crop species.
Highlights
A plant’s ability to explore the soil and to compete for soil resources is largely dependent on the architecture of its root system (Lynch, 1995)
We focus mainly on cassava (Manihot esculenta), potato (Solanum tuberosum), sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) and yams (Dioscorea sp), which the Food and Agriculture Organization defines as among the primary root and tuber crops of global importance2
These preliminary results suggest a translocation of carbon resources from the storage root to the lateral roots to enhance further soil exploration and/or increase of lateral root branching (Duque and Lynch, 2018). Based on these primary results, root cortical aerenchyma (RCA) merits research on how it can potentially affect final root yield. This phenomenon could have profound effects on storage root size, shape and yield, future research should focus on the assessment of early versus late bulking genotypes, root genotypic variability and tolerance of sweetpotato under P deficiency, focusing breeding and management efforts for degraded, low input agricultural systems found in Sub-Saharan Africa where sweetpotato as well as other root and tuber crops (RTCs) are staple and subsistence crops
Summary
A plant’s ability to explore the soil and to compete for soil resources is largely dependent on the architecture of its root system (Lynch, 1995). The published studies on potato RSA and P, relatively fewer compared to rice, has led to direct applications in terms of identifying desirable root traits for improved P acquisition and the identification of cultivars and genotypes with improved P efficiency in low nutrient conditions (White et al, 2005, 2018; Wang et al, 2015; Krell et al, 2018).
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