ArticlePlant direct2021
Nodal root diameter and node number in maize (
Article in Plant direct, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Nutrient deficiency effects on root architecture and root-to-shoot ratio in arable crops.Frontiers in plant science · 2022Pooled it
- Inheritance of root morphology in tropical maize under contrasting nitrogen levels.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Interactive effects of calcium-nitrogen combined stress and nitrogen forms on nitrogen metabolism and physiological ecological response mechanisms ofFrontiers in plant science · 2026Article
- Locating the microbes along the maize root system under nitrogen limitation: a root phenotypic approach.Annals of botany · 2025Article
- Article
- Root plasticity improves maize nitrogen use when nitrogen is limiting: an analysis using 3D plant modelling.Journal of experimental botany · 2024Article
- Clear effects on root system architecture of winter wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.) from cultivation environment and practices.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Genomic basis determining root system architecture in maize.TAG. Theoretical and applied genetics. Theoretische und angewandte Genetik · 2024Article
- Root phenotypes for improved nitrogen capture.Plant and soil · 2024Review
- Varietal responses of root characteristics to low nitrogen application explain the differing nitrogen uptake and grain yield in two rice varieties.Frontiers in plant science · 2023Article
- Functional implications of multiseriate cortical sclerenchyma for soil resource capture and crop improvement.AoB PLANTS · 2022Review
- Lateral root elongation enhances nitrogen-use efficiency in maize genotypes at the seedling stage.Journal of the science of food and agriculture · 2022Article
- β-Glucan-Functionalized Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Smart Control of Fungicide Release and Translocation in Plants.ACS omega · 2022Article
- Soil penetration by maize roots is negatively related to ethylene-induced thickening.Plant, cell & environment · 2022Article
- Theoretical evidence that root penetration ability interacts with soil compaction regimes to affect nitrate capture.Annals of botany · 2022Article
- Physiology and molecular biology of plants : an international journal of functional plant biology · 2021Article
- Nodal root diameter and node number in maize (Plant direct · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Under nitrogen limitation, plants increase resource allocation to root growth relative to shoot growth. The utility of various root architectural and anatomical phenotypes for nitrogen acquisition are not well understood. Nodal root number and root cross-sectional area were evaluated in maize in field and greenhouse environments. Nodal root number and root cross-sectional area were inversely correlated under both high and low nitrogen conditions. Attenuated emergence of root nodes, as opposed to differences in the number of axial roots per node, was associated with substantially reduced root number. Greater root cross-sectional area was associated with a greater stele area and number of cortical cell files. Genotypes that produced few, thick nodal roots rather than many, thin nodal roots had deeper rooting and better shoot growth in low nitrogen environments. Fewer nodal roots offset the respiratory and nitrogen costs of thicker diameter roots, since total nodal root respiration and nitrogen content was similar for genotypes with many, thin and few, thick nodal roots. We propose that few, thick nodal roots may enable greater capture of deep soil nitrogen and improve plant performance under nitrogen stress. Synergistic interactions between an architectural and anatomical trait may be an important strategy for nitrogen acquisition. Understanding trait interactions among different root nodes has important implications in for improving crop nutrient uptake and stress tolerance.
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