Investigation of water transport around the root for a plant using X-ray imaging technique

Abstract

Water transport in the root and soil interface has been investigated to reveal water uptake phenomena through roots. However, the mucilage-filled pore space used for water uptake has not yet been fully understood because it is difficult to analyze the multi-phase flow in an opaque porous media. In this study, the variations of water content (WC) in the region near the root of a Spathiphyllum wallisii were systematically investigated using an X-ray imaging system. Based on the spatial variations of WC around the root, the water transport phenomena in the mucilage-filled pore space were observed. To explain the water transport phenomena through the porous media around the root, the spatial variations of WC along the vertical direction were also analyzed. The present X-ray imaging technique would be helpful to understand water transport near roots of a plant. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.