Root and Shoot Traits of Spring Wheat Cultivars with Wild-Type and SemiDwarf Rht Alleles at Early and Late Growth Stages

Roots play an important role in improving crop yield by affecting the amount of water uptake and nutrient acquisition. The objective of this study was to characterize variability in root and aboveground characteristics among three diverse semi-dwarf spring wheat cultivars, ‘Vida’, ‘Oneal’ and ‘Duclair’ and a wild-type cultivar, ‘Scholar’ at early and late growth stages in a greenhouse. Plants were grown in 45-cm long tree pots in a greenhouse under optimal growth conditions. As soil-less media, a mixture of peat (70%) and perlite (30%) was used. Plants were harvested at tillering (GS25- 26) with 5-6 tillers, booting (GS43-45), and maturity (GS92). Root and shoot traits indicated significant variability among wild-type and semi-dwarf spring wheat cultivars at those growth stages. The study results showed that root mass per plant at tillering, booting, and maturity ranged from 0.10 to 0.14 g, 0.47 to 0.9 g, and 0.55 to 0.85 g, respectively, while shoot mass per plant varied from 1.7 to 2.5 g, 6.5 to 10.7 g, and 21.2 to 24.5 g, respectively. From booting to maturity, root mass was relatively constant, however, shoot mass increased considerably. Moreover, the average root mass of semi-dwarf spring wheat cultivars was 37% lower at booting and 30% lower at maturity compared to the wild-type cultivar, even though there was no significant variation among the cultivars at the early growth stage. Based on the results of the variability identified in this research, wild-type cultivar, Scholar can be evaluated for the improvement of genotypes with superior root system in breeding programs.

PDF

___

Anderson-Taylor G, Marshall C. 1983. Root-tiller interrelationships in spring barley (Hordeum distichum (L.) Lam.). Annals of Botany, 51: 47-58. Doi: 10.1093/ oxfordjournals.aob.a086449

Atta BM, Mahmood T, Trethowan RM. 2013. Relationship between root morphology and grain yield of wheat in NorthWestern NSW. Australia. Aust. J. Crop Sci., 7: 2108-2115.

Barraclough PB, Leigh RA. 1984. The growth and activity of winter wheat roots in the field: the effect of sowing date and soil type on root growth of high–yielding crops. The Journal of Agricultural Science, 103: 59–74. Doi: 10.1017/ S002185960004332x

Cholick FA, Welsh JR, Cole CV. 1977. Rooting patterns of semidwarf and tall winter wheat cultivars under dryland field conditions. Crop Science, 17: 637–640. Doi: 10.2135/ cropsci1977.0011183X001700040040x

Ehdaie B, Merhaut DJ, Ahmadian S, Hoops AC, Khuong T, Layne AP, Waines JG. 2010. Root system size influences water-nutrient uptake and nitrate leaching potential in wheat. J. Agro. Crop Sci., 196: 455–466. Doi: 10.1111/j.1439- 037X.2010.00433.x

Ellis M, Spielmeyer W, Gale K, Rebetzke G, Richards R. 2002. "Perfect" markers for the Rht-B1b and Rht-D1b dwarfing genes in wheat. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 105: 1038- 1042. Doi: 10.1007/s00122-002-1048-4

Evans LT. 2003. Crop Evolution, Adaptation, and Yield. 1st ed. Cambridge, Great Britain: Cambridge University Press.

Flintham JE, Börner A, Worland AJ, Gale MD. 1997. Optimizing wheat grain yield: effects of Rht (gibberellin-insensitive) dwarfing genes. The Journal of Agricultural Science, 128: 11- 25. Doi: 10.1017/S0021859696003942

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 2018. FAOSTAT Statistical Database of the United Nation Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Statistical Division. Rome. Available at: http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC, Accessed December, 2020.

Gregory PJ, McGowan M, Biscoe PV, Hunter B. 1978. Water relations of winter wheat: 1. growth of the root system. The Journal of Agricultural Science, 91: 91–102. Doi: 10.1017/S0021859600056653

Griffiths S, Simmonds J, Leverington M, Wang Y, Fish L, Sayers L, Alibert L, Orford S, Wingen L, Snape J. 2012. Meta-QTL analysis of the genetic control of crop height in elite European winter wheat germplasm. Mol. Breeding, 29: 159–171. Doi: 10.1007/s11032-010-9534-x

Hedden P. 2003. The Genes of the green revolution. Trends Genet., 19: 5–9. Doi. 10.1016/S0168-9525(02)00009-4 Heřmanská A, Středa T, Chloupek O. 2015. Improved wheat grain yield by a new method of root selection. Agron. Sustain.

Dev., 35: 195-202. Doi. 10.1007/s13593-014-0227-4 Liatukas Z, Ruzgas V. 2011. Coleoptile length and plant height of modern tall and semi-dwarf European winter wheat cultivars. Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae, 80: 197- 203. Doi: 10.5586/asbp.2011.018

Lynch JP. 2007. Roots of the second green revolution. Australian Journal of Botany, 55: 493-512. Doi: 10.1071/BT06118

McCaig TN, Morgan JA. 1993. Root and shoot dry matter partitioning in near-isogenic wheat lines differing in height. Canadian Journal of Plant Science, 73: 679–689. Doi: 10.4141/cjps93-089

Na T, Jiang Y, He BR, Hu YG. 2009. The effects of dwarfing genes (Rht-B1b, Rht-D1b, and Rht8) with different sensitivity to GA3 on the coleoptile length and plant height of wheat. Agricultural Sciences in China, 8: 1028-1038. Doi: 10.1016/S1671-2927(08)60310-7

Narayanan S, Mohan A, Gill KS, Prasad PV. 2014. Variability of root traits in spring wheat germplasm. Plos One, 9: 1-15. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100317

Pearce S, Saville R, Vaughan SP, Chandler PM, Wilhelm EP, Sparks CA, Hedden P. 2011. Molecular characterization of Rht-1 dwarfing genes in hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum). Plant Physiology, 157: 1820-1831. Doi: 10.1104/pp.111.183657

Richards RA, Passioura JB 1981. Seminal root morphology and water use of wheat I. environmental effects 1. Crop Science, 21: 249-252. Doi: 10.2135/cropsci1981.0011183 X002100020011x

Robin AHK, Uddin MJ, Afrin S, Paul PR. 2014. Genotypic variations in root traits of wheat cultivars at phytomer level. J. Bangladesh Agric., 12: 45-54. Doi: 10.3329/ jbau.v12i1.21238

Robbins AM. 2009. Dwarfing Genes in Spring Wheat: and Agronomic Comparison of Rht-B1, Rht-D1, and Rht8 Doctoral dissertation, Montana State University-Bozeman, College of Agriculture.

Russel DF. 1989. MSTAT-C Statistical package program ver. 2.1. Michigan State University.

Siddique HM, Belford RK, Tennant D. 1990. Root: shoot ratios of old and modern, tall and semi-dwarf wheats in a mediterranean environment. Plant and Soil, 121: 89–98.

Subira J, Ammar K, Álvaro F, Del Moral LFG, Dreisigacker S, Royo C. 2016. Changes in durum wheat root and aerial biomass caused by the introduction of the Rht-B1b dwarfing allele and their effects on yield formation. Plant and Soil, 403: 291-304. Doi: 10.1007/s11104-015-2781-1

Waines J, Ehdaie B. 2007. Domestication and Crop Physiology: Roots of Green-Revolution Wheat. Ann. Bot., 100: 991-998. Doi: 10.1093/aob/mcm180

Wasson AP, Richards RA, Chatrath R, Misra SC, Prasad SVS, Rebetzke GJ, Kirkegaard JA, Christopher J, Watt M. 2012. Traits and selection strategies to improve root systems and water uptake in water-limited wheat crops. J. Exp. Bot., 63: 3485–3498. Doi: 10.1093/jxb/ers111

White PJ, George TS, Gregory PJ, Bengough AG, Hallett PD, McKenzie BM. 2013. Matching roots to their environment. Ann. Bot., 112: 207–222. Doi: 10.1093/aob/mct123

Zadoks JC, Chang TT, Konzak CF. 1974. A decimal code for the growth stages of cereals. Weed Research, 14: 415-421.