Root development under drought stress

Abstract

Serving as interfaces between plant and the soil, roots are much more exposed to drought stress than the upper plant parts. Therefore, the root system can be as affected, or even more affected, than the aerial parts of the plant for drought stress (Franco et al., 2011). Nevertheless, the influence of this stress on root activity and development has been much less studied. Undoubtedly, this is due to limitations on accessibility for root observations; being studies on root system dynamics especially difficult because they require successive, non-destructive measurements (Franco and Abrisqueta, 1997; Franco et al., 2002a).