Abstract
Early root traits and allometrics of wheat are important for competition and use of resources. They are under-utilized in research and un-explored in many ancient wheats. This is especially true for the rhizosheath emerging from root-soil interactions. We investigated root morphology, root/shoot relations and the amount of rhizosheath of four tetrapoid wheat seedlings (30 days after emergence): the italian landrace Saragolle Lucana and modern varieties Creso, Simeto and Ciclope, and tested the hypothesis that inoculation with Trichoderma harzianum T-22 (T-22) enhances rhizosheath formation and affects wheat varieties differently. Overall growth of non-inoculated plants showed different patterns in wheat varieties, with Saragolle and Ciclope at the two extremes: Saragolle invests in shoot rather than root mass, and in the occupation of space with highest (p < 0.05) shoot height to the uppermost internode (5.02 cm) and length-to-mass shoot (97.8 cm g−1) and root (more than 140 m g−1) ratios. This may be interpreted as maximizing competition for light but also as a compensation for low shoot efficiency due to the lowest (p < 0.05) recorded values of optically-measured chlorophyll content index (22.8). Ciclope invests in biomass with highest shoot (0.06 g) and root (0.04 g) mass and a thicker root system (average diameter 0.34 mm vs. 0.29 in Saragolle) as well as a highest root/shoot ratio (0.95 g g−1 vs. 0.54 in Saragolle). Rhizosheath mass ranged between 22.14 times that of shoot mass in Ciclope and 43.40 in Saragolle (different for p < 0.05). Inoculation with Trichoderma increased the amount of rhizosheath from 9.4% in Ciclope to 36.1% in Simeto and modified root architecture in this variety more than in others. Ours are the first data on roots and seedling shoot traits of Saragolle Lucana and of Trichoderma inoculation effects on rhizosheath. This opens to new unreported interpretations of effects of Trichoderma inoculation on improving plant growth.
Highlights
Introduction iationsRoot morphological traits explain a large part of the physiology of roots [1] and the plant’s ability to respond to inputs and environmental constraints [2]
Data in our experiment show different patterns of biomass allocation and root morphology in the early growth of wheat varieties
Patterns of growth and morphology of wheat varieties have been commented in terms of strategy [4]
Summary
Root morphological traits explain a large part of the physiology of roots [1] and the plant’s ability to respond to inputs and environmental constraints [2]. Belowground indicators and allometric relations between and within shoot and root are commented in terms of strategy of plants in dealing with anthropic and natural factors and their ability to provide products and ecosystem services [3,4]. Root traits and allometric relations have been strongly suggested for inclusion in selection criteria for plants (e.g., [5,6] and for the evaluation of agronomic practices [2]). Translating seedling traits into mature plants morphology and behavior, though, is the object of controversy. For wheat many studies report that seedling traits are not related to root architecture at anthesis due to interactions with the environment.
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