Oilseed rape rooting rapid assessment

Roots play a vital role for crop productivity because they enable the uptake of water and nutrients from the soil as well as providing anchorage. Despite the importance of roots, direct selection for root system traits in the field is almost never carried out due the time consuming, labour intensive and frequently destructive nature of rooting measurements. This feasibility study will investigate new non-destructive methods for rapidly assessing rooting traits in oilseed rape which will help plant breeders to select varieties with enhanced rooting traits to increase resource capture, increase yield and yield stability in environments with variable rainfall and an improved scientific understanding of crop rooting.
The study has two objectives:
1) To investigate novel and innovative techniques, including three 'in field' methods and two seedling assessments, for their feasibility as rapid assessments for root growth in the field.
2) Identify which methods are best suited for plant breeders and researchers to assess different root traits at different times of year and at different crop growth stages.