Field Harvested Maize Root System Architecture Comparisons Under Different Treatments and Tillage Conditions Using Soft-Tissue X-Ray Imaging.

Twenty-two maize plant root systems harvested from fields in Tennessee and in Iowa were imaged with soft-tissue X-ray technology and characterized for key root system traits.  The maize plants were grown under different tillage and treatment conditions.  The results indicated that “total-root-length” and “projected root area” were affected by the various treatments but the results were heavily influenced by tillage conditions and locations.  The results also show that different diameter root system constituents responded differently to different treatment and tillage combinations.  The importance to yield of the distribution of root sizes in a root system is not yet well understood.