Plant root growth against a mechanical obstacle: the early growth response of a maize root facing an axial resistance is consistent with the Lockhart model.

ABSTRACT: Plant root growth is dramatically reduced in compacted soils, affecting the growth of the whole plant. Through a model experiment coupling force and kinematics measurements, we probed the force-growth relationship of a primary root contacting a stiff resisting obstacle, which mimics the strongest soil impedance variation encountered by a growing root. The growth of maize roots just emerging from a corseting agarose gel and contacting a force sensor (acting as an obstacle) was monitored by time-lapse imaging simultaneously to the force. The evolution of the velocity field along the root was obtained from kinematics analysis of the root texture with a particle image velocimetry derived technique. A triangular fit was introduced to retrieve the elemental elongation rate or strain rate. A para

SUBMITTER: Quiros M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9346360 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature