Using a Scanner-based Minirhizotron System to Characterize Sweetpotato Adventitious Root Development During the Initial Storage Root Bulking Stage

Abstract

A scanner-based minirhizotron (MR) system detected initial adventitious root (AR) development associated with transplant establishment. The system also documented the transition of ARs into pencil roots (PRs) and, in some cases, storage roots (SRs). In general, the MR system underestimated destructive sampling-based (DS) estimates of newly initiated AR (NAR), PR, and SR counts. Angled or vertical single sampling tubes underestimated NAR count by 85% and 79%, respectively. Regardless of installation position, single tube-based measurements underestimated PR and SR count by 83% and 95%, respectively. However, it was found that two vertically installed tubes underestimated NAR count by only 48%. The potential ability of paired sampling tubes to discriminate NAR count differences in response to experimental treatments was confirmed in a simple rain shelter experiment. The paired MR and DS systems detected 83%and 56% reduction in NAR count among plots with rain shelters, respectively. However, it appeared that the presence of tubes interfered with SR formation of monitored AR segments. Despite this limitation, the results show the potential for incorporating MR systems in ongoing and future studies that aim to qualitatively and quantitatively document sweetpotato AR system response to agroclimatic variables and management interventions during the initial SR bulking stage.