Research projects

Root2Res (Root2Resilience) is a European research and innovation project aimed at developing methods and tools for root system phenotyping and the genetic improvement of crops to enhance their resilience to climate change.

Climate change and increasingly frequent extreme weather events pose major challenges to agricultural production. Root systems play an important role in plant adaptation to changing environmental conditions, influencing water and nutrient uptake, tolerance to abiotic stress and carbon storage in soils.

The objective of Root2Res is to develop new tools for studying and evaluating root traits associated with plant resilience and to improve our understanding of their inheritance and plasticity – the ability of plants to adapt to different environmental conditions while maintaining stable crop production.

The project focuses on developing methods for root system phenotyping under field and controlled conditions, identifying genetic markers associated with tolerance to different forms of abiotic stress, and developing modelling tools for evaluating plant genotypes across different agroclimatic conditions.

Research covers important rotational crops, primarily cereals (wheat and barley), potato and grain legumes (faba bean, pea and lentil), while also exploring the potential of sweet potato to improve the resilience of cropping systems.

Main Activities and Results

The project combines research in plant genetics, physiology, agronomy and modelling to develop tools that will enable plant breeders to evaluate and select genotypes with desirable root system traits more efficiently.

The main activities include:

• Developing and testing new methods for root system phenotyping under field and controlled conditions.
• Investigating root system responses to different forms of abiotic stress, particularly water deficit, excess water and limited nutrient availability.
• Identifying genetic markers associated with root traits that contribute to plant resilience.
• Investigating the inheritance and plasticity of root system traits.
• Developing modelling tools to evaluate and predict the responses of plant genotypes under different environmental conditions.
• Identifying and testing suitable root ideotypes to improve crop resilience and yield stability.

An important part of KIS activities involves field trials and root system phenotyping of selected plant ideotypes under different abiotic stress conditions. The data collected will contribute to a better understanding of plant adaptation to environmental conditions and support the development of crop varieties capable of maintaining more stable yields under climate change.

Partnership

The project is coordinated by ARVALIS – Institut du végétal (France).

The international consortium brings together 22 partners from Europe and Africa, covering a wide range of research fields, from molecular genetics and plant physiology to agronomy, soil science and mathematical modelling.

Participating organisations include research institutes, universities and institutions closely connected to the needs of farmers and plant breeders. The consortium’s geographical diversity enables root system traits to be studied under different agroclimatic conditions.

Funding

Root2Res receives funding from the European Union under the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Horizon Europe Guarantee scheme, and the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).