Articles
Selection for root morphological traits improves the growth of grafted bell pepper
Article number
1127_33
Pages
211 – 216
Language
English
Abstract
Plant breeding programs seldom explicitly consider root traits in selecting high-performance lines.
With increased emphasis on resource use efficiency in horticulture, there is a need to identify root traits that are linked to nutrient capture.
Grafting could provide a basis for identifying beneficial root traits to be included in breeding programs.
Research was conducted to investigate the relationship between root traits and biomass of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) using a standard commercial cultivar (‘Warlock’) as a scion over 11 rootstocks of wild pepper (Capsicum chinense), while self-grafted ‘Warlock’ was used as a control.
After 5 weeks of growth in rhizoboxes, the plants were harvested to determine the biomass and root traits (total length, surface area, volume and average diameter). Effect of rootstocks resulted in above-ground biomass differences of -12 to +65% relative to the control, indicating that some rootstocks of the wild accessions were able to exploit more soil resources for a greater above-ground growth.
Analysis of root images indicated that eight accessions produced significantly larger root surface area and volume, with a larger biomass allocation to shoots compared with the control.
Shoot biomass was significantly correlated with root length (r2=0.484), root surface area (r2=0.424) and root volume (r2=0.355). These correlations showed that some rootstocks are capable of producing larger above-ground biomass with a relatively smaller photosynthate investment in root growth.
These results indicate that the selection of wild accessions as rootstock has the potential to improve the root system of bell pepper for a greater above-ground biomass.
With increased emphasis on resource use efficiency in horticulture, there is a need to identify root traits that are linked to nutrient capture.
Grafting could provide a basis for identifying beneficial root traits to be included in breeding programs.
Research was conducted to investigate the relationship between root traits and biomass of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) using a standard commercial cultivar (‘Warlock’) as a scion over 11 rootstocks of wild pepper (Capsicum chinense), while self-grafted ‘Warlock’ was used as a control.
After 5 weeks of growth in rhizoboxes, the plants were harvested to determine the biomass and root traits (total length, surface area, volume and average diameter). Effect of rootstocks resulted in above-ground biomass differences of -12 to +65% relative to the control, indicating that some rootstocks of the wild accessions were able to exploit more soil resources for a greater above-ground growth.
Analysis of root images indicated that eight accessions produced significantly larger root surface area and volume, with a larger biomass allocation to shoots compared with the control.
Shoot biomass was significantly correlated with root length (r2=0.484), root surface area (r2=0.424) and root volume (r2=0.355). These correlations showed that some rootstocks are capable of producing larger above-ground biomass with a relatively smaller photosynthate investment in root growth.
These results indicate that the selection of wild accessions as rootstock has the potential to improve the root system of bell pepper for a greater above-ground biomass.
Authors
N.H. Mohd Nor, R. Fujinuma, N.W. Menzies, S. Harper, D. McGrath
Keywords
resource use efficiency, rootstock, grafting, root traits, above-ground biomass
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