3D observation of plant root growth using MR Microscopy
Roots supply plants with nutrients and water. Besides the uptake, they are also important for mechanical stability. Tool such as localized spectroscopy and imaging can be used to monitor the uptake and consumption of nutrients and follow the growth of the plant’s roots. Since MR Microscopy is a non-destructive method the same plant can be investigated over an extended period, allowing to track specific features of a plant and also provide the plant for longitudinal studies.
Figure 1 shows the growth of Chlorophytum Comosum’s roots, also known as spider plant, over a period of 25 days. The plant with only a small amount of roots was placed in a 25 mm NMR tube. The bottom of the tube was previously filled with 50 mm quartz sand and soaked with demineralized water. A 3 mm water filled NMR tube was used as reference.
It can be clearly seen from the images acquired, that the plants form a dense root network, which expands along the length of the NMR tube.
