The international cooperation project WISH-ROOTS aims at investigating the reciprocal interaction of soil health and plant growth, here wheat. While several soil effects on the growth of wheat are known to date, little is known of the other direction. In this project we investigate the effects of wheat roots, their architecture and exudates, can shape their direct soil environment. Several soil properties are investigated: physical (e.g. texture), chemical (e.g. amount of nitrate and ammonium), and biological (e.g. microbiome)- on six different field sites of the international partners, covering three continents. Changes in the microbiome wheat root environment will be analyzed and further characterized following sequencing. This will allow insights into the priming possibilities wheat roots which will be further exanimated in controlled greenhouse experiments.

Contacts IBG-2:

Dr. Borjana Arsova

Dr. Josefine Kant