Grouping Of Wheat Seedlings Roots And Measurement Of 3D Root System Architecture

Plant root system architecture is a major determinant in water and nutrient absorption efficiency, as a preliminary to its modeling, roots have to be classified into relatively homogenous groups. In the present study, multivariate statistical methods were used to analyze and classify the roots, and the influence of P stress on root system architecture was analyzed. In addition, application on root system of 3D Digitalizer was investigated.In the experiment, wheat (NongDa 189) plants were grown on a sand culture in a greenhouse. With correlative coefficients and clustering analysis, wheat roots were analyzed and classified. In addition, effects of phosphorus deficiency on root morphology and measuring methods of root architecture were studied. Following are results obtained:By analyzing the correlations of root morphology characteristics, length of the main axis was selected as grouping criteria. The analysis showed that roots of wheat seedlings could be divided into two groups, namely length root and short root. The first group root comprised mainly the seminal root -. the first ,the second and third pair of seminal adventitious roots; The second group, the fourth, fifth and sixth. Root grouping was associated closely with root growth deposition, and choosing right criterion was important for correct root grouping.Under the conditions of phosphorus deficiency for 19 days, length change of the 2nd lateral root was most obvious in the exterior character. The first group root, average length of the 2nd lateral root shortened two times; the second group root, shortened six times much. The result showed that occurrence and stretch of the 2nd lateral root were greatly restrained under conditions of phosphorus deficiency.3D Digitalizer was suitable for measuring spatial distribution of root systems accurately. Visualization picture obtained by 3D Digitalizer and data analysis described true spatial distribution of wheat roots.