biologia plantarum

Biologia plantarum 39:311-316, 1997 | DOI: 10.1023/A:1001063725159

Non-destructive stereological method for estimating the length of rigid root systems

J. Albrechtová¹, L. Kubínová², O. Votrubová¹, K. Eliášová¹

¹ Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 5, Prague 2, Czech Republic

² Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Videňská 1083, Prague 4, Czech Republic

A non-destructive method of total vertical projections for estimating the length of rigid root systems, not introduced yet in plant sciences, is described. It is demonstrated on measuring less and more dense root systems of seedlings of Zea mays grown at hypoxic or control conditions. Photographs of six vertical projections (30° apart) of each root system were taken and evaluated. The method being based on proved mathematical formula offers unbiased estimation of the length of a rigid root system, curved in three-dimensional space, by non-destructive means. Thus, it is applicable during ongoing experimentation on plants grown in a solution culture. It was shown that less than 120 intersections between the root projection and test lines in one photograph ensured sufficient precision of the method and that the observer subjectivity could be overcome by presented instructions.

Keywords: growth analysis; total vertical projections; Zea mays

Subjects: growth analysis, root, stereological method; hypoxia, root growth; maize, root length estimation; root system, rigid, stereological estimation; Zea mays

Published: September 1, 1997  Show citation