Prof. Dr. Andrea Carminati and Dr. Mutez Ali Ahmed
Roots; Plant hydraulics; Soil-Physics; Phenotyping
DST-DAAD Joint Project (2017-2019); Root hydraulics: towards answering the global questions on root functionality and possible use in crop improvement programs
The University of Bayreuth is a public research university situated in Bayreuth, Germany. It was found in 1975 as a campus university focusing on international collaboration and interdisciplinarity. The geoscience team from Bayreuth University (Prof. Dr. Andrea Carminati and Mutez Ali Ahmed) is expertise in root and rhizosphere traits (mucilage and root hairs) related to water uptake. The team aims to understand how the hydraulic traits such as rhizosphere traits, xylem vulnerability to cavitation as well as gap formation at the root-soil interface in response to soil drying impact the stomatal closure and thus transpiration (short time feedbacks). ICRISAT- the University of Bayreuth joint collaboration enhances the understanding of short-time hydraulic regulation and its impacts on the water use economy during crop growth that eventually impact biomass and yield. In an on-going research collaboration with the University of Bayreuth, team GEMS attempts to understand the short-term hydraulic regulation in C4 cereal crops (Maize, Sorghum, and Pearl Millet) using high throughput phenotyping platforms (LeasyScan and Lysimeter)