Two potato (Solanum tuberosum) varieties differ in drought tolerance due to differences in root growth at depth

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (11) ◽  
pp. 1107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Puértolas ◽  
Carlos Ballester ◽  
E. David Elphinstone ◽  
Ian C. Dodd

To test the hypothesis that root growth at depth is a key trait explaining some genotypic differences in drought tolerance in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), two varieties (Horizon and Maris Piper) differing in drought tolerance were subjected to different irrigation regimes in pots in a glasshouse and in the field under a polytunnel. In the glasshouse, both cultivars showed similar gas exchange, leaf water potential, leaf xylem ABA concentration and shoot biomass independently of whether plants were grown under well watered or water deficit conditions. Under well watered conditions, root growth was three-fold higher in Horizon compared with Maris Piper, 3 weeks after emergence. Water deficit reduced this difference. In the polytunnel, applying 60% or less irrigation volume compared with full irrigation significantly decreased tuber yield in Maris Piper but not in Horizon. This was coincident with the higher root density of Horizon in deep soil layers (>40 cm), where water content was stable. The results suggest that early vigorous root proliferation may be a useful selection trait for maintaining yield of potato under restricted irrigation or rainfall, because it rapidly secures access to water stored in deep soil layers. Although selecting for vigorous root growth may assist phenotyping screening for drought tolerance, these varieties may require particular environmental or cultural conditions to express root vigour, such as sufficiently deep soils or sufficient water shortly after emergence.

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjam Koch ◽  
Merle Katharina Winkelmann ◽  
Mario Hasler ◽  
Elke Pawelzik ◽  
Marcel Naumann

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. e0132683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Szalonek ◽  
Barbara Sierpien ◽  
Wojciech Rymaszewski ◽  
Katarzyna Gieczewska ◽  
Maciej Garstka ◽  
...  

2007 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Schafleitner ◽  
Raymundo Gutierrez ◽  
Ricardo Espino ◽  
Amelie Gaudin ◽  
José Pérez ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ai-Ke Bao ◽  
Yan-Wen Wang ◽  
Jie-Jun Xi ◽  
Chen Liu ◽  
Jin-Lin Zhang ◽  
...  

Lotus corniculatus L. is an important legume for forage, but is sensitive to salinity and drought. To develop salt- and drought-resistant L. corniculatus, ZxNHX and ZxVP1-1 genes encoding tonoplast Na+/H+ antiporter and H+-pyrophosphatase (H+-PPase) from a succulent xerophyte Zygophyllum xanthoxylum L., which is well adapted to arid environments through accumulating Na+ in its leaves, were transferred into this forage. We obtained the transgenic lines co-expressing ZxNHX and ZxVP1-1 genes (VX) as well as expressing ZxVP1-1 gene alone (VP). Compared with wild-type, both VX and VP transgenic lines grew better at 200 mM NaCl, and also exhibited higher tolerance and faster recovery from water-deficit stress: these performances were associated with more Na+, K+ and Ca2+ accumulation in their leaves and roots, which caused lower leaf solute potential and thus retained more water. Moreover, the transgenic lines maintained lower relative membrane permeability and higher net photosynthesis rate under salt or water-deficit stress. These results indicate that expression of tonoplast Na+/H+ antiporter and H+-PPase genes from xerophyte enhanced salt and drought tolerance of L. corniculatus. Furthermore, compared with VP, VX showed higher shoot biomass, more cations accumulation, higher water retention, lesser cell membrane damage and higher photosynthesis capacity under salt or water-deficit condition, suggesting that co-expression of ZxVP1-1 and ZxNHX confers even greater performance to transgenic L. corniculatus than expression of the single ZxVP1-1.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weixing Liu ◽  
Geng Ma ◽  
Chenyang Wang ◽  
Jiarui Wang ◽  
Hongfang Lu ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 154-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ju-Sung Im ◽  
Kwang-Soo Cho ◽  
Ji-Hong Cho ◽  
Young-Eun Park ◽  
Chung-Gi Cheun ◽  
...  

Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 297 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Postic ◽  
Katia Beauchêne ◽  
David Gouache ◽  
Claude Doussan

Breeding for crops in the context of climate change necessitates phenotyping tools for roots in field conditions. Such in-field phenotyping requires the development of rapid and non-destructive measurement techniques for the screening of relevant root traits under sub-optimal conditions. In this study, we used scanner-based minirhizotrons to measure in situ the root length and surface/volume densities of roots for four wheat varieties, under four different growth conditions: irrigated and rainfed coupled with optimal and sub-optimal N fertilization under a Mediterranean climate. For all the treatments, grain yield correlates with minirhizotron-based root surface density measured at anthesis (r2 = 0.48). Irrigated and rainfed conditions led to contrasted relations between roots and grain yield: no correlation was found in irrigated plots, while under rainfed conditions and sub-optimal fertilization, the higher yields are related to a higher root colonization of the deeper soil layers (r2 = 0.40). Shoot biomass was correlated to grain yield in irrigated conditions, but not in rainfed conditions. However, for the latter, the total root weight, the proportion of which being mainly located in the top soil, is not related to the grain yield. In this way, we show the relationship between these higher grain yields and a stress avoidance mechanism of the root system characterized by a higher root density in the deep soil layers. Thus, unlike shoot biomass measurements, scanner-based minirhizotron allows the direct detection of such a stress-related root development, and therefore opens the door to a better prediction of grain yield.


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