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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #306991

Title: Field and laboratory root growth and development of Lesquerella germplasm

Author
item CRUZ, VON MARK - Colorado State University
item WANG, GUANGYAO - University Of California
item DIERIG, DAVID - Retired ARS Employee

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/28/2014
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Lesquerella roots have not been fully characterized as compared to other crop species. There is initial information gathered on root trait variation in young seedling grown in laboratory settings but studies to determine if the results can be extrapolated in field grown plants are lacking. We report details of root growth and development under different field conditions to supplement this need and validate observations in the laboratory. Two accessions of lesquerella, WCL-LO4 and PI 596434, that previously showed significant difference in root morphology in the laboratory were grown at field sites in Maricopa, AZ and El Centro, CA. WCL-LO4 is an improved germplasm with high harvest index, while PI 596434 is an unimproved germplasm. The lesquerella plants were planted in the fall season of 2012 and 2013 in AZ and CA, respectively. Root samples were obtained during the crop’s vegetative, flowering, and pod maturity stages during the growing season. Root morphological traits were analyzed as well as root distribution in the soil profile during the pod maturity stage. Significant differences were found between the accessions during the seedling stage on root weight, total root length, and root volume which supported previous observation in laboratory-grown plants. However, the trait differences became less pronounced during the course of plant development. The tap root length and total root length showed consistent results on both field sites with PI 596434 having higher values than WCL-LO4. The results from the field screening provided information about root growth and development in lesquerella which will be useful in further understanding soil-crop relations to fine-tune crop production, as well as germplasm screening to identify germplasm with desired traits for crop improvement activities.