Course Description
This 1-week training course will offer lectures and hands-on demonstration of protocols for rice root phenotyping with an emphasis on field studies. The course will be held in conjunction with a rice root research network workshop at IRRI, during which a mini-symposium and advanced techniques workshop will be open to course participants.
Course Objectives
By the end of the training course, the participants should be able to:
- Characterize soil-grown rice roots from both field and greenhouse experiments using standardized phenotyping methods.
- Apply appropriate sampling and analytical techniques to assess key root traits
- Interpret and utilize root phenotyping data to support research and breeding efforts aimed at improving rice performance under various environmental conditions.
Key Modules:
- Soil coring, root washing, and root scanning (including distinguishing root diameter classes)
- Crown root sampling, crown root counting, and lateral root density
- Nodal root sectioning, anatomical analysis, and root hair scoring
- Greenhouse root experiment setup (tubes and lysimeters) and root hydraulic conductance measurement
- Root respiration, root porosity, apoplastic barriers, radial oxygen loss
Learning Modality
The course will be delivered face to face through activities involving lectures, field visits, and laboratory activities.
Target Audience
The course is intended for graduate students and rice researchers interested in broadening their repertoire of measurements to characterize rice roots.
