The drier the region, the fewer seminal roots the maize varieties cultivated there had on average (black figure; the pie chart shows the proportion of varieties with up to one seminal root in yellow, ...

Fig.1 Structural equation model between soil water content (SWC), soil temperature (ST), root length (RL), canopy cover (CC), leaf stay-greenness (SG), chlorophyll content (SPAD), photosynthetic rate ...

The shoots of plants get all of the glory, with their fruit and flowers and visible structure. But it's the portion that lies below the soil — the branching, reaching arms of roots and hairs pulling ...

Tiny organisms such as bacteria and fungi help to promote the health and function of plant roots. It is commonly assumed that the composition of these microbes is dependent on the properties of the ...

Maize can grow successfully in very different local conditions. An international study headed by the University of Bonn has now demonstrated the important role of the plant root system. The ...