A semi-hydroponic phenotyping platform was constructed using inexpensive and easily obtained materials for characterizing root trait variability in a large set of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) germplasm. The system was designed to accommodate a large number of plants in a small area allowing relatively deeper root development, and thus serves as a high-throughput phenotyping tool for studying root dynamic growth. The root trait quantitative platform could provide accurate phenotyping data for parameterizing root models and for genome-wide association analyses or mapping studies of quantitative trait loci.
Keywords: Chickpea; Phenotyping; Root traits; Semi-hydroponic system.