Root traits for low input agroecosystems in Africa: Lessons from three case studies

Abstract

In many regions across Africa, agriculture is largely based on low-input and small-holder farming systems that use little inorganic fertilisers and have limited access to irrigation and mechanisation. Improving agricultural practices and developing new cultivars adapted to these environments, where production already suffers from climate change, is a major priority for food security. Here, we illustrate how breeding for specific root traits could improve crop resilience in Africa using three case studies covering very contrasting low-input agroecosystems. We first review how greater basal root whorl number and longer and denser root hairs increased P acquisition efficiency and yield in common bean in South East Africa. We then discuss how water-saving strategies, root hair density and deep root growth could be targeted to improve sorghum and pearl millet yield in West Africa. Finally, we evaluate how breeding for denser root systems in the topsoil and interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi could be mobilised to optimise water-saving alternate wetting and drying practices in West African rice agroecosystems. We conclude with a discussion on how to evaluate the utility of root traits and how to make root trait selection feasible for breeders so that improved varieties can be made available to farmers through participatory approaches.

Keywords: arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis; rhizosphere; root anatomy; root architecture.