Title: Design and demonstration of a low‐field magnetic resonance imaging rhizotron for in‐field imaging of energy sorghum roots

Abstract

Abstract Root phenotyping provides critical information to plant breeders for developing varieties with improved drought tolerance, greater root biomass, and greater nutrient use efficiency. Phenotyping roots in the natural environment is important for understanding the effect of the soil environment on root genotypic expressions. The goal of this work was to design and test a field‐scale mobile low‐field magnetic resonance imaging (LF‐MRI) Rhizotron that produces actionable root phenotyping data. We demonstrated this novel technology for root visualization and quantification using a LF‐MRI Rhizotron operating at 47 mT with two soil types. The LF‐MRI Rhizotron weights 453 kg, with a height of 90 cm, a diameter of 28 cm and an imaging field of view of 28 cm × 28 cm. The unit was operated in a Belk clay (Entic Hapluderts) and Weswood silt loam (Udifluventic Halustepts) generating 2‐D and 3‐D image data sets. The 2‐D image data had a collection time of 16.5 min per image at an image resolution of 2.2 mm per pixel. The 3‐D data had a collection time of 13 h per image with a 2.2 × 2.2 × 2.2 mm voxel resolution. Low‐field magnetic resonance imaging worked well for visualizing roots in moderate to high clay soils, demonstrating the potential for this technology; however, the broad applicationmore » of this platform is hampered due to the prohibitively long scanning time to obtain 3‐D images. By increasing the field strength, and therefore the signal‐to‐noise ratio, faster scan times can enable a more useful system for root phenotyping.« less

Authors:

Bagnall, G. Cody  ^[1];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-8795-0417"

Altobelli, Stephen A. ^[2]; Conradi, Mark S. ^[2]; Fabich, Hilary T. ^[2]; Fukushima, Eiichi ^[2]; Koonjoo, Neha ^[3]; Kuethe, Dean O. ^[2]; Rooney, William L.  ^[1];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Rooney, William L."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-7953-1856"

Stupic, Karl F. ^[4]; Sveinsson, Bragi ^[3]; Weers, Brock ^[5]; Rajan, Nithya  ^[1];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Rajan, Nithya"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0003-3798-2629"

Rosen, Matthew S.  ^[6];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Rosen, Matthew S."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-7194-002X"

Morgan, Cristine L. S.  ^[7]

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-9836-0669"

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Texas A&,M AgriLife Reseach 2147 TAMU College Station TX 77843 USA
2. ABQMR Inc. 2301 Yale Blvd. SE, Suite C2 Albuquerque NM 87106 USA
3. Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Dep. of Radiology Massachusetts General Hospital Charlestown MA 02129 USA
4. Applied Physics Division National Institute of Standards and Technology 325 Broadway Boulder CO 80305 USA
5. Dep. of Biochemistry and Biophysics Texas A&,M Univ. College Station TX USA
6. Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Dep. of Radiology Massachusetts General Hospital Charlestown MA 02129 USA, Harvard Medical School Boston MA 02115 USA, Dep. of Physics Harvard Univ. Cambridge MA 02138 USA
7. Soil Health Institute 2803 Slater Road Suite 115 Morrisville NC 27560 USA

Publication Date:

Mon Mar 21 00:00:00 EDT 2022

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE

OSTI Identifier:

1879166

Alternate Identifier(s):

OSTI ID: 1906896

Resource Type:

Published Article

Journal Name:

Plant Phenome Journal

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Name: Plant Phenome Journal Journal Volume: 5 Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2578-2703

Publisher:

Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English