Optimal root pruning to promote growth and water use efficiency of rice seedlings
ZHU Mei
HU Chenfan
LIU Shuoshuo
LIN Shimiao
LIU Jingzhe
Abstract：[Background and Objective]Improving water use efficiency in agriculture is a critical to alleviating global water stress.As agriculture consumes approximately 62%of global water,optimizing agricultural water use is essential for sustainable resource management.In the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum(SPAC),water transport in soil-root system is a key water cycle component and has attracted increasing research attention.Recent studies have shown that rational an approximate root pruning can improve plant water use efficiency,offering promising strategies for water-efficient agriculture.However,study on root pruning in rice remains limited,with most studies focusing on either timing or intensity,while ignoring their combined effects.This study aims to address this gap.[Method]A field experiment was conducted using two rice varieties,Jingzhan 1 and Luhan 639.Root pruning was performed on the 7 th,9 th,and 11 th day after germination by cutting the root at 1.5 cm from the root tip,removing half of the root,and retaining 2 cm root segment.An unpruned root treatment was the control.Overall,there were eight treatments,which were arranged in a randomized design with three replicates each.Key indicators such as seedling vigor index,root-to-shoot ratio,photosynthetic traits,and water use efficiency were measured during the.Using the membership function method,seven variables were used to comprehensively assess the impact of different pruning treatments.[Result]For the Jingzhan 1 variety,pruning the root at 1.5 cm from the root tip on the 9 th day after germination resulted in the greatest improvement in seedling growth and water use efficiency.For the Luhan 639 variety,removing half of the root on the 9 th day after germination produced the best results.[Conclusion]Root pruning,when applied at the optimal time and intensity,can significantly enhance rice seedling growth and water use efficiency.This study provides practical guidelines for improving water-efficient rice cultivation and contributes to the broader goal of sustainable agricultural water management.
Keywords：rice seedlingsroot cutting combinationmembership function methodwater use efficiency
Publication Date：2025-07-30
Online Publishing Date：2026-09-12(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：8( 10-17 )