Carbon allocation in cassava is affected by water deficit and potassium application - A C-CO pulse labelling assessment.

Rationale: Cassava production faces challenges in a changing climate. Pulse labelling cassava with C-CO has the potential to elucidate carbon allocation mechanisms of cassava under drought stress and with potassium application. Understanding these mechanisms could guide efforts to mitigate effects of drought in cassava cropping systems.

Spatial variability and environmental drivers of cassava-arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF) associations across Southern Nigeria.

Cassava, forming starch-rich, tuberous roots, is an important staple crop in smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Its relatively good tolerance to drought and nutrient-poor soils may be partly attributed to the crop's association with arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF). Yet insights into AMF-community composition and richness of cassava, and knowledge of its environmental drivers are still limited.

Improved genotypes and fertilizers, not fallow duration, increase cassava yields without compromising arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus richness or diversity.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are ubiquitous in agroecosystems, but their role in mediating agricultural yield remains contested. Field experiments testing effects of realistic agronomic practices of intensification on AM fungus composition and yields are scarce, especially in the low-input systems of sub-Saharan Africa. A large, full-factorial field experiment was conducted in South-Kivu (DR Congo), testing effects of fallow duration (6 vs.

A functional-structural model of upland rice root systems reveals the importance of laterals and growing root tips for phosphate uptake from wet and dry soils.

Background And Aims: Upland rice is often grown where water and phosphorus (P) are limited. To better understand the interaction between water and P availability, functional-structural models that mechanistically represent small-scale nutrient gradients and water dynamics in the rhizosphere are needed.

Methods: Rice was grown in large columns using a P-deficient soil at three P supplies in the topsoil (deficient, sub-optimal and non-limiting) in combination with two water regimes (field capacity vs.

Anatomical root responses of rice to combined phosphorus and water stress - relations to tolerance and breeding opportunities.

Drought and low P availability are major limitations for rainfed rice (Oryza spp.) production. Root anatomy plays a key role in resource acquisition and tolerance to P and water limitations.