Implementation of root system diagnostics to deliver a field-based measure for root health

Deterioration of the physical, chemical and biological qualities of soils, known collectively as soil health, has been identified as a major factor in declining productivity. The Soil Health Program aims to increase adoption of best practice using a toolbox of positive change indicators to demonstrate and monitor progress. Healthy root systems are essential for crop productivity due to their role in nutrient and water uptake, stool anchorage, ratoon vigour and interactions with soil microbes. Feedback from the sugar industry consistently identifies a strong need for a field-based root health diagnostic as an integrated part of the soil health toolbox. This project will build on extensive research including recent projects that have developed a test which reports the quantity of live sugarcane roots in field soil samples. This test will be further developed as a diagnostic tool that can be applied to crops in the field.