Articles
NOVEL METHODS FOR OBSERVING AND QUANTIFYING ROOT GROWTH OF HORTICULTURAL CROPS©
Article number
1014_88
Pages
389 – 394
Language
English
Abstract
A large portion of the U.S. Green Industry is involved with growing plants in containers, including nursery crops, annual bedding plants and potted herbaceous perennials.
With such a large portion of the industry in containers, it is important to understand the factors that influence root growth to attain optimal benefits from container production.
Several factors that affect root growth include the physical and chemical properties of substrates.
Physical properties include porosity and water holding capacity, percentage of fine particles and bulk density (Mathers et al., 2007). Chemical properties include pH, cation exchange capacity and soluble salts (Mathers et al., 2007). There are several known techniques used to measure these factors that affect root growth, but methods used to measure the whole root system or measure the growth of roots over time are not as widely available.
It is also not well understood how roots change and affect the physical properties of substrates in the container over time.
The most common root system measurements reported in scientific literature are: (1) subjective root ratings and (2) root dry weight measurements.
Root ratings, while being non-destructive, are completely subjective to the person rating the root system and can vary person to person.
The second method of root washing is widely accepted as a valid determination of root mass but it is well understood/assumed that a percent of root (particularly fine roots) mass is lost.
Oliveira et al. (2000) reported that almost 20-40% of the original root weight is lost during root washing of certain plant species.
A non-destructive technique for measuring horizontal root growth (HorhizotronTM) was developed at Auburn University and Virginia Tech that offers a simple, non-destructive technique to measure root growth over time (Wright and Wright, 2004). This HorhizotronTM is constructed out of eight panels of glass attached to an aluminum base to form four wedge-shaped quadrants.
The HorhizotronTM was built to fit a plant removed from a 1-3-gal container and placed in the center so the quadrants extend away from the root ball.
This technique is most appropriate for assessing/observing root growth from rootballs likely to study post-transplant root response.
This technique does not allow for observations and study of small plant root development such as, herbaceous plugs and nursery liners.
In order to study root growth of seeds, liners and plugs during production, new techniques need to be developed and evaluated.
The objectives of this work were: (1) design and testing of a small scale version of a HorhizotronTM suitable for small plant material and (2) design and testing of the Rhizometer, an in situ technique for determining the influence of plant roots on the physical root environment.
With such a large portion of the industry in containers, it is important to understand the factors that influence root growth to attain optimal benefits from container production.
Several factors that affect root growth include the physical and chemical properties of substrates.
Physical properties include porosity and water holding capacity, percentage of fine particles and bulk density (Mathers et al., 2007). Chemical properties include pH, cation exchange capacity and soluble salts (Mathers et al., 2007). There are several known techniques used to measure these factors that affect root growth, but methods used to measure the whole root system or measure the growth of roots over time are not as widely available.
It is also not well understood how roots change and affect the physical properties of substrates in the container over time.
The most common root system measurements reported in scientific literature are: (1) subjective root ratings and (2) root dry weight measurements.
Root ratings, while being non-destructive, are completely subjective to the person rating the root system and can vary person to person.
The second method of root washing is widely accepted as a valid determination of root mass but it is well understood/assumed that a percent of root (particularly fine roots) mass is lost.
Oliveira et al. (2000) reported that almost 20-40% of the original root weight is lost during root washing of certain plant species.
A non-destructive technique for measuring horizontal root growth (HorhizotronTM) was developed at Auburn University and Virginia Tech that offers a simple, non-destructive technique to measure root growth over time (Wright and Wright, 2004). This HorhizotronTM is constructed out of eight panels of glass attached to an aluminum base to form four wedge-shaped quadrants.
The HorhizotronTM was built to fit a plant removed from a 1-3-gal container and placed in the center so the quadrants extend away from the root ball.
This technique is most appropriate for assessing/observing root growth from rootballs likely to study post-transplant root response.
This technique does not allow for observations and study of small plant root development such as, herbaceous plugs and nursery liners.
In order to study root growth of seeds, liners and plugs during production, new techniques need to be developed and evaluated.
The objectives of this work were: (1) design and testing of a small scale version of a HorhizotronTM suitable for small plant material and (2) design and testing of the Rhizometer, an in situ technique for determining the influence of plant roots on the physical root environment.
Authors
L.A. Judd, B.E. Jackson, W.C. Fonteno
Keywords
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