Root phenotyping of NS sunflower

Abstract

Sunflower breeding, in the past decades, had lead to significant improvements in sunflower yield, pest resistance, and altered oil composition; however breeding is oriented towards analysis and improvement of above-ground parts, while root development has been significantly neglected. Future breeding eff orts that would be aimed at modifying root traits can result in improved crops regarding stress-tolerance and ultimately increased yields by optimizing the capacity of the plant for soil exploration (water and nutrient acquisition). Development of novel phenotyping platforms for non-invasive root analysis facilitates characterization of root architecture and investigation of developmental dynamics and root growth. Up to our knowledge, this is the first report of sunflower root phenotyping using modern phenotyping platforms.