Recent decades have seen a dramatic increase in research on plant roots. A deeper understanding of the complex ways roots interact with soils is making it possible to ‘design’ roots to optimise nutrient/water uptake in low-input environments, as well as deliver other benefits such as improved soil health and reduced nutrient leaching. Continued research is needed in this important area so that it can contribute to more sustainable, ‘climate-smart’ crop production.
Understanding and improving crop root function features authoritative reviews of current research in all aspects of root science, including root growth regulators, root anatomy, nutrient acquisition and root system architecture. This collection discusses the responses of plant roots to abiotic and biotic stresses and how understanding nutrient uptake can be exploited to optimise root function. The book concludes with a dedicated section on methods used to improve crop root function and crop nutrient use efficiency, such as the use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR).
With its eminent editor and international array of expert authors, Understanding and improving crop root function will be a standard reference for university researchers in crop physiology and nutrition, government and other agencies supporting agriculture, companies supplying crop nutrition products and services, as well as farmers.
Recent decades have seen a dramatic increase in research on plant roots. A deeper understanding of the complex ways roots interact with soils is making it possible to design roots to optimise nutrient/water uptake in low-input environments as well as deliver other benefits such as improved soil health and reduced nutrient leaching. This collection summarises the wealth of current research in this important area and how it can contribute to more sustainable, climate-smart crop production.
Part 1 in this collection reviews recent research on understanding root system architecture and growth together key interactions in the rhizosphere. Chapters cover topics such as measurement and modelling techniques, root architecture, root growth regulators, root anatomy and nutrient acquisition. Part 2 assesses how roots respond to biotic stresses such as parasites, pathogens nematodes. Part 3 summarises what we know about root uptake of water and key nutrients such as nitrogen and, phosphorus Part 4 explores how this understanding can be used to optimise root function. Chapters cover topics such as phenotyping to identify desirable root traits, exploiting the genetics of root traits, the use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM).
With its eminent editor and international array of expert authors, Understanding and improving crop root function will be a standard reference for university researchers in crop physiology and nutrition, government and other agencies supporting agriculture, companies supplying crop nutrition products and services, as well as farmers.
Dr Peter Gregory is Emeritus Professor of Global Food Security at the University of Reading, UK, where he was previously Professor of Soil Science. Amongst many distinctions, Professor Gregory is a former President of the International Society of Root Research (ISRR) as well as former Chief Executive of the Scottish Crop Research Institute (now part of the James Hutton Institute) and East Malling Research (now NIAB-EMR). He is internationally-renowned for his research in soil and crop root science.
