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DART: a software to analyse root system architecture and development from captured images

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Abstract

Image analysis is used in numerous studies of root system architecture (RSA). To date, fully automatic procedures have not been good enough to completely replace alternative manual methods. DART (Data Analysis of Root Tracings) is freeware based on human vision to identify roots, particularly across time-series. Each root is described by a series of ordered links encapsulating specific information and is connected to other roots. The population of links constitutes the RSA. DART creates a comprehensive dataset ready for individual or global analyses and this can display root growth sequences along time. We exemplify here individual tomato root growth response to shortfall in solar radiation and we analyse the global distribution of the inter-root branching distances. DART helps in studying RSA and in producing structured and flexible datasets of individual root growth parameters. It is written in JAVA and relies on manual procedures to minimize the risks of errors and biases in datasets.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. D. J. Pilbeam (University of Leeds, UK) and Dr. C. Jourdan (CIRAD, France) for their critical reviews and suggestions to improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRA, UR 1115 Plantes et Systèmes de culture Horticoles, F-84000, Avignon, France

    Jacques Le Bot, Valérie Serra, José Fabre, Stéphane Adamowicz & Loïc Pagès

  2. Unité d’écophysiologie et d’amélioration végétale (AGRO/BAPA/ECAV), Faculté d’ingénierie biologique, agronomique et environnementale, Université catholique de Louvain, Place Croix du Sud 2-11, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgique

    Xavier Draye

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  1. Jacques Le Bot
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  2. Valérie Serra
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  3. José Fabre
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  4. Xavier Draye
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  5. Stéphane Adamowicz
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  6. Loïc Pagès
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Correspondence to Jacques Le Bot.

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Responsible Editor: Jonathan P. Lynch.

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Le Bot, J., Serra, V., Fabre, J. et al. DART: a software to analyse root system architecture and development from captured images. Plant Soil 326, 261–273 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-0005-2

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