Speaker
Description
Soil compaction is a significant challenge impacting crop production, with 36% of European soil having high or very high susceptibility to compaction (Van Camp et al. 2010). Compaction in the topsoil (c. 0-0.4 m) is often caused by the increasing weight of agricultural machinery and poor tillage practices, including the management of soil in the wrong conditions. Deeper in the soil profile high bulk densities are caused by overburden pressure, resulting in roots being clustered in soil biopores (Zhou et al. 2020). Compacted soil stunts root growth, reducing water and nutrient uptake and consequently impacting yield. The Breakthru project builds on the recent discovery that rice roots can penetrate highly compacted soil by disrupting their sensitivity to the plant hormone ethylene (Pandey et al. 2021). Breakthru is investigating this concept in wheat.
Eight spring wheat genotypes, differing in their sensitivity to ethylene, were grown in the field under three cultivation treatments to compare their rooting performance. The trial took place in the 2023 harvest year in the UK on a silty clay loam soil. Genotypes grown originated from multiple sources including UK Recommended List varieties and varieties bred in CIMMYT. Cultivation treatments of low (ploughed), medium (flat lift) and high (direct drill) soil strength were introduced to differ the soil penetration resistance in the top 0.3 m of soil. To understand how root performance was impacted by the soil environment, penetrologger measurements were taken at multiple points during the season and bulk density was assessed post-harvest. Crops were monitored throughout the season to analyse potential physiological differences between genotypes and cultivation treatments. These involved assessments of plant establishment, leaf chlorophyl levels, disease assessments, pre-harvest yield components and final yield. Root performance was assessed through ‘shovelomic’ (Trachsel et al. 2010) measurements at crop tillering and root washing from soil cores down to 1 m depth post anthesis.
This poster will present the results from the first of two planned trial seasons. Rooting performance will be compared across the cultivation treatments and the influence of ethylene insensitivity on crop rooting will be discussed. The influence of the soil environment on crop rooting, from penetration resistance and bulk density assessments, will be analysed and any links between rooting performance and aboveground physiology measurements will be presented.
Pandey, B. K, et al. 2021. Plant roots sense soil compaction through restricted ethylene diffusion. Science; Vol 371, pp 276-280.
Trachsel, S, et al. 2010. Shovelomics: high throughput phenotyping of maize (Zea mays L.) root architecture in the field. Plant and Soil; 341, pp 75-87.
Van Camp, G, et al. 2010. Reports of the Technical Working Groups Established under the Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection. Vol. V: Monitoring. EUR 21319 EN. EC; 2004. JRC28868.
Zhou, H, et al. 2020. The interaction between wheat roots and soil pores in structured field soil. Journal of Experimental Botany; 72, pp 747-756.
| Keywords | Rooting; Wheat; Cultivations; Soil compaction |
|---|
