[WEBINAR RECORDING] Hidden Influence: An examination of root system architecture and crop response to nutrition, irrigation, and climate

Continuous in situ monitoring of root growth provides researchers with a vital window into the hidden influences on what we see above ground.

Join us Thursday, July 1 at 8:00AM PDT for an in-depth discussion with Dr. Shiwangni Rao and Dr. Elmi Lotze, two prominent researchers digging into the complex relationship between crops, their roots, and their environment.

Don’t miss it, we’re looking forward to seeing you there!

JULY 1, 2021

8:00AM PDT

(Convert to your time zone)

REGISTER HERE

Dr. Elmi Lötze

Plant Nutrition, Climate Change & Root Dynamics

Dr. Elmi Lötze is a Senior Lecturer and researcher at the Department of Horticultural Science, Sellenbosch University, South Africa.

She has held various positions in the fruit industry and became a full-time academic after graduating with her PhD in 2005.

She joined Stellenbosch University as a permanent staff member in 2015 where she trains post-graduate students in Horticultural Science and Sustainable Agriculture, as well as teaching Applied Plant Physiology to final year undergraduate students.

Her current research focus is plant nutrition, climate change, and root dynamics across crops. New projects include root studies on red bush tea and blueberries, calcium application in apple, wind damage in citrus, cover crops in perennial orchards, and the sustainability of almond, pecan, and avocado in alternative regions of the Western Cape associated with climate change. The majority of her past research was conducted in apples, in addition to projects on plum, pear, and peach.

Her passion is to facilitate sustainable change using an applied, integrated approach toward research, with a strong preference for multidisciplinary projects.

Dr. Lötze has been using the CI-600 In-Situ Root Imager since 2013.

Dr. Shiwangni Rao

Pulse Crop Root System Architecture for Trait Selection

Dr. Shiwangni Rao is a Research Scientist at Agriculture Victoria Research in the Department of Plant Molecular breeding.

Her recent work into pre-breeding of pulses involves examining pulse root system architecture for trait selection in overcoming production constraints. She completed her Master’s Degree at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji and her PhD at Charles Sturt University, Australia. Her background is in environmental science and her research focuses on food security and supply.

Dr. Rao will be talking about her examination and characterization of pulse root system architecture and the use of the CI-600 Root imager. The focus of the webinar will be on lentils and their root response in irrigated vs. rainfed systems – how she used and installed the CI-600 Root imager, data collection, and image analysis.