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Dec. 18, 2017


Most research studies to date have looked at the part of the plant that grows above ground, but a large-scale research study led by BGU researchers has been looking at a world below ground –  the “hidden half". Not much is known about how the roots affect the sturdiness of the crop. Does one rootstock react better to salinity than another? Does one require less moisture? 

As climate change makes more and more areas around the globe drier, crops fail and people go hungry. It is up to scientists to figure out the best plant that will survive on less water while producing more yield. Not an easy task. 

Harnessing Israel's agricultural expertise, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has set up the “Root of the Matter" program as part of five different Knowledge Centers. The "Root of the Matter" program brings leading researchers from different research fields and from three research institutes (BGU, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Agricultural Research Organization) together with researchers from local R&D centers and leading Israeli agro-technology companies. 

The “Root of the Matter" Knowledge Center currently manages three research projects. One is long-term (six years) and the others are short term (three years). The short term projects are in the middle of their second year. Project A focuses on building a system to test the tolerance of roots and to find optimal scion (the aboveground part of the plant)–rootstock combinations, through measuring these grafted crops' morphological-metabolic–molecular and physiological performances and testing their adaptation to arid lands. In this long-term project, experiments are conducted on common platforms used for both continuous and non-continuous monitoring of the root zone. Project B focuses on the development of decision-making based on monitoring and models in order to achieve optimal agricultural production. Project C works on developing microbial solutions and testing the efficiency of their implementation using an irrigation system for the improvement of crop and plant tolerance. 

Dr. Michal Levy, Deputy Director-General, Agricultural Innovation at the Ministry of Agriculture: "The Knowledge Centers were established by The Ministry of Agriculture in order to boost innovation and cooperation between research institutes and industry. The main goal of the Knowledge Centers is to develop products. This dictates a research approach that’s applicative from day one and involves companies that look at the commercial aspects as part of the process. A direct result of this approach is having these Knowledge Centers serve as a platform for business growth and are therefore super relevant for companies. The interest we're seeing validates this. 

"Another unique aspect of these Centers is that we make a point of building them around researchers from different disciplines looking at the same research question from different angles to provide multidisciplinary answers."

Prof. Naftali Lazarovitch of the French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands in Sede Boqer is currently the program leader while Prof. Shimon Rachmilevitch is on sabbatical. 

“The unique extreme conditions in the arid and semi-arid areas of Israel, namely, water scarcity, salinity, and extreme temperatures, were an important engine for the creative thinking that has turned Israel into a center of agricultural knowledge and breakthroughs shared with many countries around the world.  This important knowledge center is promoting multidisciplinary research on the root zone and will undoubtedly lead to significant change in global agriculture practices," asserts Lazarovitch.   

One project within the “Root of the Matter" is being conducted by Lazarovitch and his post-doctoral student Daniela Jerszurki from Brazil. They have set up a greenhouse filled with cherry tomato plants to test rootstocks. The Lurca scions are paired with different rootstocks and divided into those receiving fresh water and those receiving water with a higher salinity, explains Jerszurki. 

“We are characterizing five different rootstocks with the same scion (Lurca). Now that we have new ways to analyze the roots, we want to learn more about root stock stability," she says. Jerszurki worked on rootstocks during her doctorate at UC Davis before coming to Israel to work with Lazarovitch and Rachmilevitch. 

Lazarovitch and Jerszurki together with Prof. Jonathan Ephrath use a combination of hi and low-tech research tools. A rhizotron is a room in which the roots grow around it and if you look out then you can see them. They use a mini-rhizotron tube, which is not invasive since the roots grow around the tube. Every two weeks they stick a camera down the tube and take a picture every two centimeters as they slowly pull the camera back up from its one meter depth. 

Lazarovitch's Masters student Danie van Ophem is working on developing an automated camera that can be 3D printed. Current cameras cost around $20,000. They hope to produce a camera with comparable photographic capability for $1000, which would greatly facilitate such new and cutting-edge research. 

The other two destructive methods Lazarovitch and Jerszurki use to assess root stocks are the ingrowth cores and soil sampling. Every month or two they cut out a 35 centimeter cone and take it back to the lab for analysis as well as soil samples. 

The techniques and knowledge developed by the program's researchers will be applied by pioneering Israeli companies for the benefit of local agronomists, as well as in agricultural operations worldwide. The tools and the knowledge that will be developed can propel Israeli R&D into a leadership position in the field of root zone research, which will enable sustainable agriculture that is adapted to the predicted increase in both world population and food demands, alongside climate and environmental changes.

Roots.jpg
Above: Roots captured using and automated mini- rhizotron camera