Abiotic stresses refer to environmental influences such as drought (water deficit), salinity, excessive watering (water-logging/flooding), extreme temperatures (cold, frost and heat), and toxic substances that negatively impact growth, development, yield and seed quality of crops and other plants.
Recent progress and cost reductions in sequencing methods suggest that the avoidance of future breeding bottlenecks will require the ability to phenotype large populations in a reliable and effective way. Reliable assessment of quantitative physiological traits (QPTs) such as growth rate, water use efficiency or transpiration are important aspects in many research and development programs. Nevertheless, measuring these QPTs has always been a major challenge due to the complex nature of the phenotype, the...
The root’s role in water uptake is essential; however, as they are below the surface, it is very challenging to continuously monitor them - especially by non-invasive methods. By using soil-embedded sensors, which measure the soil moisture, temperature, and electrical conductivity, at the same time as other environmental signals and physiological parameters, Plantarray enables the quantitative evaluation of multiple functional traits,...
The concentration of fertilizers, biostimulants, microorganisms, drugs and plant protection products affect the plant development, growth, and yields. Determining the optimal concentration of different treatments together with the watering regime (i.e. drought conditions) is a great challenge from both an agronomic and environmental aspect. For example, the efficient application of fertilizers optimize plant performance, however, over-fertilization will contaminate the soil and adjacent water...
Researchers and breeders are returning to nature, searching for explanations about plant adaptation and adaptation abilities to harsh environments. Finding a genotype that presents a trait to cope with drought or salinity could improve crop production and stability.