Understanding the Contribution of Root Traits for Phosphorus Responsiveness of Wheat
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Understanding the contribution of root traits for phosphorus responsiveness of wheat Kamrun Nahar B. Sc. (Hons) M. Sc. (Botany) A thesis submitted to the University of Adelaide, South Australia in the fulfilment of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Agriculture, Food and Wine Faculty of Science The University of Adelaide May 2017 Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................. v List of Figures ............................................................................................................. viii List of Appendices ....................................................................................................... xii List of abbreviations ................................................................................................... xiii Abstract ....................................................................................................................... xiv Declaration ................................................................................................................. xvii Acknowledgement .................................................................................................... xviii Chapter 1 : General Introduction ................................................................................... 1 References .................................................................................................................. 5 Chapter 2 : Literature review ......................................................................................... 8 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 8 Phosphorus in soil ...................................................................................................... 9 Organic P .............................................................................................................. 10 Inorganic P ............................................................................................................ 11 Phosphorus uptake and translocation by plants ....................................................... 12 Deficiency symptoms ............................................................................................... 13 Phosphorus use in Australian agriculture ................................................................. 14 Phosphorus efficiency .............................................................................................. 17 Adaptive mechanisms .............................................................................................. 20 Root architecture ................................................................................................... 22 Root biomass and root: shoot ratio ........................................................................... 30 Root exudates ........................................................................................................... 31 Organic acids/ carboxylates .................................................................................. 31 Phosphatases and other exudates .......................................................................... 34 Aerenchyma formation ............................................................................................. 35 Mycorrhizal colonization ......................................................................................... 36 Remobilization / internal utilization of P ................................................................. 41 Summary .................................................................................................................. 42 Aim and objective .................................................................................................... 43 i References ................................................................................................................ 44 Chapter 3 : Root angle, total root length and root hair length: combined contribution for phosphorus responsiveness of wheat ..................................................................... 62 Abstract .................................................................................................................... 64 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 65 Materials and methods ............................................................................................. 69 Soil and plant materials ........................................................................................ 69 Growth conditions and measurements .................................................................. 71 Data analysis ......................................................................................................... 74 Results ...................................................................................................................... 75 Root angle ............................................................................................................. 75 Root hair length .................................................................................................... 81 Rhizosheath size ................................................................................................... 81 Dry matter production ........................................................................................... 85 Total shoot P uptake ............................................................................................. 88 Heritability and correlation of root traits and shoot P uptake ............................... 88 Discussion ................................................................................................................ 92 Correlation of root angle towards varietal P responsiveness ................................ 92 Root morphology and P responsiveness ............................................................... 93 Root hair length and rhizosheath size for varietal P responsiveness and P uptake .............................................................................................................................. 95 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 99 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. 99 References ................................................................................................................ 99 Chapter 4 : Contribution of mycorrhizal colonization in growth, phosphorus uptake and varietal difference of wheat ................................................................................ 105 Abstract .................................................................................................................. 107 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 108 Methods and materials ........................................................................................... 110 Selection of varieties ........................................................................................... 110 Experimental details ........................................................................................... 111 Measurements ..................................................................................................... 114 Data analysis ....................................................................................................... 115 ii Results .................................................................................................................... 116 Experiment 1: Preliminary experiment ............................................................... 116 Experiment 2a: Root box .................................................................................... 117 Experiment 2b: Field assessment ........................................................................ 126 Experiment 3: Pot trial ........................................................................................ 127 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 136 Acknowledgement .................................................................................................. 140 References .............................................................................................................. 140 Chapter 5 : Genetic variation of root traits and exudation of citric and malic acid in wheat varieties ........................................................................................................... 144 Abstract .................................................................................................................. 144 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 144 Materials and methods ........................................................................................... 148 Soil and plant materials ...................................................................................... 148 Growth conditions and measurements ................................................................ 148 Data analysis ....................................................................................................... 152 Results