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. 2024 Apr 2:2024:10.17912/micropub.biology.001189.
doi: 10.17912/micropub.biology.001189. eCollection 2024.

Quantification of maize brace root formation after vertical stalk displacement

Jonathan Reneau  1 , Noah Ouslander  1 , Erin E Sparks  1
Affiliations

Quantification of maize brace root formation after vertical stalk displacement

Jonathan Reneau et al. MicroPubl Biol. .

Abstract

Maize brace roots develop from aboveground stem nodes in both upright and vertically displaced stalks. The cues that trigger brace root development after displacement are unknown. Possibilities include disturbance of the belowground roots, gravity, moisture, physical interaction, or node anatomical changes. We show that brace root formation occurs at all growth stages, with more nodes producing brace roots when plants are displaced at later growth stages. This occurs with the underground roots intact, without moisture accumulation and without physical interaction. We propose that the formation of brace roots after vertical stalk displacement is most likely due to gravity or anatomical changes at the node.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest present.

Figures

Figure 1. <b>Brace root development after vertical stalk displacement</b>
Figure 1. Brace root development after vertical stalk displacement
A) Trial 1 plants shown after the recovery period. B) An example V12 plant over selected time after displacement. At Day 0, the stalk is horizontal and not touching the underlying shade cloth. At Day 1, the stalk is already bending at the node. By Day 11, the first split in the leaf sheath reveals a brace root emerging (white arrowhead). By Day 29, brace roots have completely emerged from the node and are pushing against the shade cloth. C) At progressively older growth stages, there is a larger Euclidean distance to reorientation (the distance between the soil and the vertical section stalk, inset image blue arrow). Concurrent with the larger distances, there are more nodes that produce brace roots after displacement. There was no notable difference in dry weight among the different stages of displacement. D) A node that was not in contact with the shade cloth (Day 3, white arrow) still produced brace roots (Day 29, white arrow).
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This work was completed with no funding support.

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