Root Observations and Measurements at (Transparent) Interfaces with Soil

Effects of Soil Moisture Depletion for One Month before Flowering on Dry Matter Production and Ecophysiological Characteristics of Wheat Plants in Wet Soil during Grain Filling

“…It was reported that, when soil moisture decreased, roots developed well especially in deeper soil, not only in the wheat (Box et al, 1989;Morita and Okuda, 1994;Proffitt et al, 1985) but also in soybean (Hida et al, 1995;Hirasawa et al, 1994Hirasawa et al, , 1998, cowpea, rice (Angus et al, 1983), peanut, millet (Inanaga et al, 1996), and other plants. Wheat roots in the shallower soil in the present experiment were not so long, as in earlier studies by others (Box et al, 1989;Box and Ramseur, 1993;Proffitt et al, 1985), perhaps due to the dry and compacted surface of the soil, light leakage and temperature effects, which resulted from insertion of the minirhizotron tubes (Wiesler and Horst, 1994;Smit et al, 2000). The resistance to water transport in plants in the D-plot, with their better-developed root systems, was smaller than that in the W-plot ( Table 3), indicating that plants in the D-plot had a greater capacity for water absorption (Hirasawa and Ishihara, 1991;Hirasawa et al, 1992a, b).…”

Root growth and distribution in sugarcane cultivars fertigated by a subsurface drip system

“…The images were analyzed with the software RootSnap!™ version 1.2.8.23 (CID Bio-Science Inc., Camas, WA, USA). The root length (L) was initially obtained and then the cumulative root density (L A ) was estimated as L normalized by the 422.3 cm 2 sampling area of each window (Box, 1993;Smit et al, 2000), totaling 0,16892 m 2 per access tube. The total amount of roots was estimated in each sample site and then the relative distribution in soil profile was calculated.…”

Considerations in the study of tree fine-root turnover with minirhizotrons

“…The minirhizotron method is a non-destructive method in which transparent tubes are installed in the study field, and fine roots on the soil-tube boundary are recorded using a CCD (charge-coupled device) camera (Fahey et al, 1999;Smit et al, 2000;Johnson et al, 2001;Satomura et al, 2001). The minirhizotron method has been used for long-term root dynamics research since the late 1980s (Taylor, 1987;Majdi, 1996;Johnson et al, 2001;Satomura et al, 2001).…”

“…Installation of the observation tubes causes a brief soil disturbance, but then permits direct observation of fine roots through a transparent interface and enables evaluation of the spatial distribution pattern of fine roots and root demography by continual observation of the individual rootlets (Majdi, 1996;Smit et al, 2000). This ability to observe individual rootlets directly and continuously is why many researchers prefer this method, and for these reasons the minirhizotron method is considered to be suitable for long-term research (Smit et al, 2000).…”

“…This ability to observe individual rootlets directly and continuously is why many researchers prefer this method, and for these reasons the minirhizotron method is considered to be suitable for long-term research (Smit et al, 2000).…”