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- Author or Editor: Philip A. Barker x
- HortScience x
Seedlings and microcuttings taken from two western black cherry (Prunus serotina var. virens Ehrh.) trees, one with profuse roots and one with scant roots, were grown in either normal or compacted soil to determine if the variation in the growth of fine and coarse roots under conditions of compaction could be attributed to genetic factors or method of propagation. An image processing system [Image Capture and Analysis System (ICAS)] was used to classify and measure the roots. There was a significant reduction in the surface area of fine roots, total surface area, and root dry weight after 12 weeks of compaction, but the effect on coarse roots was nonsignificant. Initial differences in the larger surface area of coarse roots of seedlings vs. for those of microcuttings disappeared over the course of the experiment. However, the surface areas of fine roots and the total surface area were significantly larger and root dry weight was higher for seedlings than for microcuttings, even at the end of the 12-week treatment period. The surface areas of fine and coarse roots, total surface area, and dry weight of roots were similar at the end of the experiment, regardless of genotype.
Microcuttings of three western black cherry (Prunus serotina var. virens Ehrh.) phenotypes obtained from seedling trees with profuse or scant root systems were grown in two container sizes to examine the early effects of root constraint. Because manual methods to estimate root length and other characteristics are time consuming and subjective, an image analysis hardware and software system (image capture and analysis system) was used to classify and measure the roots. There was a significant effect of clone on fine-root surface area, coarse: fine root ratio, and root dry weight (P ≤ 0.05), but root characteristics (profuse or scant root development) of the parent material were absent in the vegetative propagules from these lines. Container size had no significant effect on coarse- or fine-root surface area but did reduce coarse: fine root ratio (P ≤ 0.05). A threshold effect of container size on root dry weight was detected (P ≤ 0.1).