Advances in understanding grain legume physiology: understanding root architecture, nutrient uptake and response to abiotic stress

Abstract

Root system architecture (RSA) influences root foraging and resource uptake from the soil and thus determines plant growth and productivity in grain legumes. Understanding RSA, nutrient uptake and its response to drought and other abiotic stresses is vital for breeding super genotypes for efficient water and nutrient acquisition and with enhanced adaptation to edaphic stresses. This chapter describes the role of root architecture in plant health, available approaches for measuring root architecture, variability of RSA traits across genotypes and its implications for breeding drought-resistant varieties. The chapter explains how combined root phenotyping, non-destructive imaging, root model simulations and molecular techniques can serve as tools in breeding legume genotypes with optimised root system for enhanced adaptation to target environments.