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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Sunflower and Plant Biology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #61269
Title: TEMPERATURE INFLUENCE ON EARLY ROOT GROWTH OF INTERSPECIFIC SUNFLOWER SEEDLINGS

Author
item Seiler, Gerald

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/3/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Temperature is an important environmental factor influencing the initiation, growth, and development of sunflower roots. Using a growth pouch system, primary and lateral root growth of six interspecific genotypes and two cultivated hybrids were evaluated at temperatures ranging from 10 to 40 deg C for 10 days. An analysis of variance indicated that 10-day-old seedlings of genotypes differed significantly in primary and lateral root growth, total root length, and number of lateral roots, but not root branching density. Averaged over all genotypes, total root growth was maximum at 30 deg C, with considerably less growth at 10 or 40 deg C. Genotypes and hybrids appear to be temperature specific for root growth. Wild interspecific genotypes had root characteristics similar to cultivated hybrid '894'. Further studies are needed to correlate laboratory observations with responses under field conditions.