The Roots of Agriculture: A series on below-ground research from the SolACE project

The series includes three parts:

1. Too Deep or Not Too Deep: Deep-rooting – 20 January, 2022

We will look at deep-rooting, including modelling, to consider how a vertical approach contributes to this field, including a virtual look at the Radimax KU facility used in the SolACE project and contributions from Matthias Wissuwa of the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences.

Lead organiser: Kristian Thorup-Kristensen, University of Copenhagen

2. To Dig or Not To Dig: Root phenotyping for breeding – 10 February, 2022

This event will cover root phenotyping strategies and tools that are within the reach of breeding, with a particular attention to the value and limitations of field and controlled conditions phenotyping. It will include contributions from the SolACE project and benefit from the long experience and vision of Jonathan Lynch (Penn State University).

Lead organiser: Xavier Draye, Université catholique de Louvain (UCL)

3. To Interact or Not to Interact: The Root Microbiome – 3 March, 2022

This event will decipher the expectation for a better understanding of plant and microbiome interactions, including tools and methods for root phenotyping and characterization of structural or functional traits associated with plant-microbiome-soil interactions. Laurent Philippot of INRAE will provide an opening presentation, followed by examples from SolACE project trials of bio-stimulants and a virtual tour of a platform (4PMI) devoted to this topic.

Lead organiser: Christophe Salon, French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE)

Two additional stakeholder events are also being organised, looking at different outcomes from the SolACE project. These will all feed into the final SolACE stakeholder event, which is being held in Brussels, Belgium on 12 April, 2022.

Further information

For more information about the roots series, please visit: The Roots of Agriculture: A series on below-ground research from the SolACE project