Root system architecture (RSA) encompasses the three‐dimensional configuration of a plant’s root network, which plays a critical role in water and nutrient uptake, anchorage and overall plant fitness.

Researchers have identified two fungal enzymes that hijack the immune system of plants, playing a critical role in the colonization of plant roots. These findings open new avenues for interventions in ...

Maize can grow successfully in very different local conditions. An international study has now demonstrated the important role of the plant root system. The researchers analyzed more than 9,000 ...

Malcolm Bennett receives funding from UK Research Council BBSRC and hosts EU MCSA and EMBO fellow Poonam Mehra. Poonam Mehra receives funding from EMBO and Horizon 2020 Plants have colonised the vast ...

Almost all crop plants form associations with a particular type of fungi - called arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi - in the soil, which greatly expand their root surface area. This mutually beneficial ...

The plant root system is a complex and dynamic ecosystem that houses a variety of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, archaea, and protists, etc. These microorganisms together form the root ...

What’s in a plant? Humans admire them, eat them and rely on them for oxygen release, carbon sequestration, animal habitat and more. But a plant is more than meets the eye. Beneath the soil, its root ...

Upon first glance, plant roots seem distinct from animal guts. However, like the intestines, roots are responsible for nutrient acquisition, they interact with robust microbial communities, and both ...

As a botanist and extension agent, I think quite a bit about how plants grow. Understanding the method to their madness helps to explain and diagnose the various concerns of citizens that come our way ...

You can’t construct a strong building on a weak foundation, and you can’t grow a great corn crop on a weak root system. From freezing temperatures to voracious underground pests and other threats, ...

An interesting new research project out of Sweden's Linköping University has demonstrated how plant roots can be used as energy storage devices. The scientists see the process, which requires the ...

When we think about our gardens, and our lives, what is most visible to us is often foremost in our minds. But in gardening, as well as in sustainable living, it is important to look beneath and ...