Osku Mozhdeh, Roozban Mahmoud Reza, Sarikhani Saadat, Lawson Shaneka, Arab Mohammad Mehdi, Sadeghi-Majd Rasoul, Vahdati Kourosh
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural Technology (Aburaihan), University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center (HTIRC), USDA Forest Service, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.
BMC Plant Biol. 2025 Aug 2;25(1):1020. doi: 10.1186/s12870-025-07069-6.
Root system architecture is a key determinant of plant establishment, particularly in species such as Pistachio ( L.), which inherently display limited lateral root formation and low survival rates after transplanting. This study evaluated the impact of radicle-tip excision on root architecture and overall seedling vigor in ‘Ohadi’ pistachio cultivar. A factorial experiment was conducted using five distinct radicle length categories at the time of excision: L1 (0.5–1.0 cm), L2 (1.01–2.0 cm), L3 (2.01–3.0 cm), L4 (3.01–4.0 cm) and L5 (4.01–5.0 cm), and three cutting sizes of 1 mm (CS1), 3 mm (CS3) and 5 mm (CS5) while untreated seedlings were used as the control group. Following radicle-tip excision, the seedlings were grown in perlite-filled pots and irrigated weekly with half-strength Hoagland’s nutrient solution. Growth, vitality, and root architectural traits were assessed at end of the experiment.
Remarkably, the L3CS3 treatment involving excision of 3 mm from the radicle tip when its length reached L3 (2.01–3.0 cm) resulted in significant enhancements in key morphological traits, including shoot and root fresh/dry weights, leaf area and plant height. In addition, root system characteristics such as the number of lateral roots (NLR), network depth (NWDP), network volume (NWVL), and convex area (NWCA) showed substantial improvement. Ordinal regression analysis revealed a strong relationship between lateral root traits and overall seedling vigor, confirming the physiological relevance of the root manipulation. Complementary correlation analysis further supported the notion that improved root traits positively influence shoot growth, indicating an integrative effect.
These findings underscore the potential of radicle-tip excision as a cost-effective and scalable approach to improve root functionality and transplant performance in pistachio, with broader applicability to other species that exhibit limited lateral root development in nursery production systems.
[Image: see text]
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12870-025-07069-6.
根系结构是植物定植的关键决定因素，尤其是对于阿月浑子（Pistacia vera L.）这类植物而言，其本身侧根形成有限，移栽后成活率较低。本研究评估了胚根尖端切除对‘奥哈迪’阿月浑子品种根系结构和幼苗整体活力的影响。进行了一项析因试验，在切除时使用五个不同的胚根长度类别：L1（0.5 - 1.0厘米）、L2（1.01 - 2.0厘米）、L3（2.01 - 3.0厘米）、L4（3.01 - 4.0厘米）和L5（4.01 - 5.0厘米），以及三种切割尺寸1毫米（CS1）、3毫米（CS3）和5毫米（CS5），同时将未处理的幼苗作为对照组。胚根尖端切除后，将幼苗种植在装满珍珠岩的花盆中，每周用半强度的霍格兰营养液灌溉。在试验结束时评估生长、活力和根系结构特征。
值得注意的是，当胚根长度达到L3（2.01 - 3.0厘米）时从胚根尖端切除3毫米的L3CS3处理，在关键形态特征方面有显著改善，包括地上部和根部的鲜重/干重、叶面积和株高。此外，根系特征如侧根数量（NLR）、网络深度（NWDP）、网络体积（NWVL）和凸面积（NWCA）也有显著改善。有序回归分析揭示了侧根特征与幼苗整体活力之间的密切关系，证实了根系操作的生理相关性。互补相关性分析进一步支持了改善的根系特征对地上部生长有积极影响这一观点，表明存在综合效应。
这些发现强调了胚根尖端切除作为一种经济有效且可扩展的方法来改善阿月浑子根系功能和移栽性能的潜力，对在苗圃生产系统中侧根发育有限的其他物种具有更广泛的适用性。
[图像：见正文]
在线版本包含可在10.1186/s12870 - 025 - 07069 - 6获取的补充材料。
