Zamani, Afshin, Emam, Yahya, Nowrouzi, Aref (2025). Root Architectural Diversity in Wheat Cultivars and Its Role in Response to Terminal Water Stress. , (), -.
Afshin Zamani; Yahya Emam; Aref Nowrouzi. "Root Architectural Diversity in Wheat Cultivars and Its Role in Response to Terminal Water Stress". , , , 2025, -.
Zamani, Afshin, Emam, Yahya, Nowrouzi, Aref (2025). 'Root Architectural Diversity in Wheat Cultivars and Its Role in Response to Terminal Water Stress', , (), pp. -.
Zamani, Afshin, Emam, Yahya, Nowrouzi, Aref Root Architectural Diversity in Wheat Cultivars and Its Role in Response to Terminal Water Stress. , 2025; (): -.

Root Architectural Diversity in Wheat Cultivars and Its Role in Response to Terminal Water Stress

Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 16 September 2025    PDF (707.27 K)
Authors
Afshin Zamani1; Yahya Emam* 1; Aref Nowrouzi2
1Shiraz University, School of Agriculture, Department of Plant Production and Genetics
2Shiraz University, School of Agriculture, Department of Plant Production and Genetics,
Abstract
Root architecture plays a key role in optimizing water uptake and sustaining yield under drought stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of vertical root distribution in determining the performance of three irrigated wheat cultivars under terminal water stress (TWS). A field experiment was conducted during the 2021–2022 growing season at Shiraz University (School of Agriculture), evaluating three bread wheat cultivars: Pishgam, Torabi, and Sirvan. The low-cost "pasta strainer" method, originally developed for evaluating rice root systems using plastic baskets, was adapted and employed to assess wheat mature root architecture in this context. To assess vertical root distribution, roots protruding through the side perforations of strainers were counted at three defined depth intervals: shallow (2–8 cm; SRN), middle (8–10 cm; MRN), and deep (10–13 cm; DRN). The results revealed significant differences in root architecture among cultivars. Compared to Sirvan and Torabi, Pishgam exhibited a more uniform root distribution across SRN, MRN, and particularly DRN. A significant interaction between irrigation and cultivar was observed for root weight, root volume, shoot biomass, and grain yield (GY). Pishgam appeared to be superior in most of measured traits. GY showed a positive association with MRN and DRN, which was further supported by principal component analysis aligning GY with root weight, root volume, MRN, and DRN. Despite the advantages and limitations of the pasta strainer method, our results demonstrated that cultivar with deeper rooting type, exhibited better drought performance.
Keywords
Pasta strainer; Root phenotyping; Root architecture; Mature root; Vertical root distribution
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