Background A hypothetical ideotype is presented to optimize water and N acquisition by
maize root systems. The overall premise is that soil resource acquisition is optimized by the …

Phosphorus is an essential nutrient that is required for all major developmental processes
and reproduction in plants. It is also a major constituent of the fertilizers required to sustain …

Greater exploitation of subsoil resources by annual crops would afford multiple benefits,
including greater water and N acquisition in most agroecosystems, and greater …

Background Agricultural production is often limited by low phosphorus (P) availability. In
developing countries, which have limited access to P fertiliser, there is a need to develop …

The rhizosphere is a complex environment where roots interact with physical, chemical and
biological properties of soil. Structural and functional characteristics of roots contribute to …

I propose that reduced root development would be advantageous for drought resistance in
high-input agroecosystems. Selection regimes for crop ancestors and landraces include …

An emerging paradigm is that root traits that reduce the metabolic costs of soil exploration
improve the acquisition of limiting soil resources. Here, we test the hypothesis that reduced …

The Green Revolution boosted crop yields in developing nations by introducing dwarf
genotypes of wheat and rice capable of responding to fertilisation without lodging. We now …

Several root anatomical phenes affect water acquisition from drying soil, and may therefore
have utility in breeding more drought-tolerant crops. Anatomical phenes that reduce the …

Crop genotypes with reduced metabolic costs of soil exploration would have improved water
and nutrient acquisition. Three strategies to achieve this goal are (1) production of the …