Responsiveness of soybean cultivars with contrasting root system to water and mechanical stress to root elongation

• Grant number: 23/06069-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2023
• End date: June 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Principal Investigator: Renan Caldas Umburanas
• Grantee: Isabela Andrade Costa
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Soybean cultivars show variation in biomass partitioning for root formation, but it is still little known whether greater root growth has any advantage for plant performance in response to water and mechanical stress on soil physical attributes. Soil compaction is currently a limiting factor for high productivity, especially when soil turning is not carried out, as occurs in areas under no-tillage system. The objective of this study is to evaluate two contrasting soybean cultivars regarding root growth in response to water and mechanical stress. For this, experiments will be conducted where soybean plants will be grown in soil samples with different matrix potentials and different penetration resistances, to simulate water and mechanical stress, respectively. The soil used for plant growth will come from the field under no-tillage, as well as simulated levels of compaction in the laboratory. Soybean elongation and root architecture will be evaluated, as well as the physical properties of the soil will be characterized, such as soil density, soil resistance to penetration, water retention curve and pore size distribution. Based on the evaluated attributes, the observed data will be parameterized with root growth modeled by the RootBox software to assess the correlation with root growth measurements from field experiments. The results of this study will contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between soybean root architecture and soil physical attributes.