New wheat root ideotypes for improved resource use efficiency and yield performance in reduced input agriculture

This proposal for LINK funded project will build on a solid base of work currently underway, funded through existing LINK programmes, BBSRC, directly by industry, the Scottish Government and the NIAB Trust fund. The proposed study will seek to initiate a better understanding of wheat root growth, morphology and functional relationships with nutrient and water uptake. Methods to describe roots in a diverse range of winter wheat types will be implemented in controlled glasshouse conditions and in the field. The project will form the foundation for improving nutrient sequestration and conversion in this important UK crop through initiation of pre-breeding and development of ideal root ideotypes suitable for use in current and future wheat production. The consortium will concentrate on efficient or enhanced use of resources, especially nitrogen and phosphate and will consider interactions with water availability. In addition, the importance of interactions with beneficial mycorrhizal fungi on nutrient sequestration and the negative impact of soil-borne pathogenic fungi on susceptible genotypes will be considered under field conditions. Finally, the potential impact of agrochemical seed coats on root performance will be assessed. Overall, research in root biology leading to increases in nutrient uptake efficiency will contribute to reductions in diffuse pollution and will substantially reduce green house gas emission due a reduction in the use of nitrogen fertilisers in wheat cultivation

The main objective of this study is to determine the impact of wheat root growth and morphology on the efficiency of nutrient uptake and hence yield and to explore how this interacts with selected environmental and agronomic parameters. We will assess the level of genetic variation for root development in a range of genotypes in controlled environments and assess the performance of a sub-set of lines with contrasting root characters under field conditions. Interactions with mycorrhizal and pathogenic fungi and the effect of seed coat agrochemical applications will also be assessed. Pre-breeding of improved lines using elite and more diverse germplasm sources will be initiated. The key technical aspects of this work are to identify and develop methods to study root systems in controlled environments and in field experiments for a set of 95-100 wheat lines comprised of genotypes for which there is extensive existing phenotypic information for adaptive traits and which represent a range of diverse types. These methods will be deployed to characterise the root system of the set of wheat lines, and assess nutrient uptake and yield performance in field plots at defined levels of macronutrient inputs, concentrating on nitrogen and phosphorus and selected crop protection chemicals applied as seed coat treatments. We shall also collect samples from the field experiments to assess the potential of wheat genotypes to form mutualistic associations with mycorrhizal and pathogenic fungi. In addition the impact of agrochemical seed treatments on both mutualistic and pathogenic interactions will be assessed. Finally, to underpin future research we shall develop a new bi-parental mapping population using genotypes that demonstrate markedly different root growth and morphologyand initiate pre-breeding work with the intention of developing lines in which ideal wheat root ideotypes are combined with ideal above-ground characters typical of high yielding varieties.

This LINK Consortium brings together leading academic experts in crop science, genetics, plant physiology and soil ecology (NIAB, SCRI, ADAS and York University) with first rate industry scientists from four major UK plant breeding companies, two crop protection companies (BASF and Monsanto) and a major player in UK agricultural marketing and services (Frontier Agriculture Ltd). The problems we address are highly topical; Adding information where there has been little prior research on the wheat root system which interfaces the soil environment will add value to the demanding target of security of food production in a changing and increasingly variable climate where water availability is compromised and regulation dictates reduced fertilizer inputs. The potential of this work will resonate with many in the scientific community, in government, governmental organizations and with the general public. Effective exploitation of the results of this research is therefore critical and is specifically what the LINK programme and the industry Consortium is set up for. The breeding companies have the potential to directly exploit the results in their commercial programmes. The crop protection companies marketing seed treatments will benefit from understanding how their compounds interact with root systems. Breeders and crop protection specialists will benefit from a better understanding of the dynamic interactions between roots, beneficial mycorrhizal fungi, soil pathogens and seed coat chemicals. Growers and organizations supplying growers will benefit from new varieties that are high yielding under changing climatic conditions. Each of the academic Centres in this collaborative project have strong track records in delivering research in LINK projects and ensuring that outputs are disseminated and exploited by the industry consortium. NIAB will be the leading Institute and Andy Greenland will co-ordinate the activities described in this programme.