Responses of Root Growth to Moderate Soil Water Deficit in Wheat Seedlings

In the field, plants show better root growth in drying soil than in wet soil. However, the root growth enhancement has not been demonstrated clearly in the laboratory. In this study, the root growth response of wheat seedlings to moderate soil water deficits was characterized quantitatively in an environment-controlled chamber. Germinated seeds of wheat were grown for 15 days in the soil with a water potential ranging from field capacity (FC) to approximately -0.08 MPa. The leaf area decreased with reduction in soil water potential. By contrast, the root surface area increased upon reduction of the soil water potential to -0.04 MPa while it decreased significantly in soil with a water potential of -0.08 MPa. The increase in surface area was obvious in the roots with a diameter of 0.2 to 0.4 mm and larger than 0.7 mm. Root weight increased with the reduction of soil water potential to -0.04 MPa. While specific root length decreased significantly with the reduction of water potential to -0.06 MPa, the specific root surface area did not. Assimilates transported from shoot might be used in roots to increae the surface area mainly by increasing the diameter rather than the length in response to a moderate soil water deficit in wheat seedlings. This might result from the drought tolerance mechanism of osmotic adjustment in roots.