HortiRoot
Prof. dr. ir. Inge Verstraeten
In a world with a constantly growing population, facing climate change and consumer-based quality demands, we aim to also achieve a sustainable agricultural system. Nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous are essential for crop production, but when used excessively they can be a source for pollution. While maintaining soil fertility, nutrient losses have to be reduced. Our research is built around the plant root's adaptive responses to rhizosphere nutrient conditions.
We specifically focus on the plant root's sensing, signalling and adaptations to limited soil nutrient conditions. Since long-term root architecture adaptations are induced by immediate sensing and fast signalling events, these form the basis of our research.
To study these fast responses we employ hydroponics and microfluidic growth systems in which the plant's reactions to environmental changes can be followed in real-time at high resolution. We build technology to automatically acquire information out of root images using a vertical confocal microscope system combined with tracking and analysis options. Our work both in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and in tomato will allow us to identify both novel fast signalling components and systemically acting keys for plant development based on the nutritional input.