Summary: The effect of different durations of waterlogging and subsequent drainage is described for 3‐wk‐old wheat (Triticum aestivum) plants. In a pot experiment, plants were subjected to waterlogging to the soil surface for 0, 3, 7, 14, 21 or 28 d, and then drained to allow recovery for up to 25 d. During waterlogging, the seminal root system stopped growing. Adventitious roots grew to a maximum length of c. 150 mm. Leaf nitrogen concentration was severely decreased by waterlogging. When waterlogged pots were drained, seminal root mass did not recover to control values, even when waterlogging lasted only 3 or 7 d, due to death of existing apices and no initiation of new lateral roots. By contrast, adventitious roots resumed elongation after drainage. By the end of the experiment, shoot mass remained two‐ to threefold lower in plants from all waterlogged treatments compared with continuously drained controls, due to lower tiller numbers and shorter final leaf lengths in previously waterlogged plants. The results demonstrate that even short periods (as little as 3 d) of waterlogging have considerable long‐term effects on the growth of young wheat plants.

In Asia, cassava (Manihot esculenta) is cultivated by more than 8 million farmers, driving the rural economy of many countries. The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), in partnership with national agricultural research institutes (NARIs), instigated breeding and agronomic research in Asia, 1983. The breeding program has successfully released high-yielding cultivars resulting in an average yield increase from 13.0 t ha–1 in 1996 to 21.3 t ha–1 in 2016, with significant economic benefits. Following the success in increasing yields, cassava breeding has turned its focus to higher-value traits, such as waxy cassava, to reach new market niches. More recently, building resistance to invasive pests and diseases has become a top priority due to the emergent threat of cassava mosaic disease (CMD). The agronomic research involves driving profitability with advanced technologies focusing on better agronomic management practices thereby maintaining sustainable production systems. Remote sensing technologies are being tested for trait discovery and large-scale field evaluation of cassava. In summary, cassava breeding in Asia is driven by a combination of food and market demand with technological innovations to increase the productivity. Further, exploration in the potential of data-driven agriculture is needed to empower researchers and producers for sustainable advancement.

The growth reduction of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) during and after waterlogging stress depends on the depth of water from the soil surface. In a pot experiment with 3-week-old plants, soil was waterlogged for 14 d at the surface, or at 100 or 200 mm below the surface, and pots were then drained to assess recovery. A fully drained treatment kept at field capacity served as control. During waterlogging, the relative growth rate of roots decreased more than that of shoots (by 6–27% for shoots, by 15–74% for roots), and plant growth was reduced proportionally as the water level was increased. Light-saturated net photosynthesis was reduced by 70–80% for the two most severe waterlogging treatments, but was little affected for plants in soil waterlogged at 200 mm below the surface. The number of adventitious roots formed per stem in plants grown in waterlogged soil increased up to 1.5 times, but the number of tillers per plant was reduced by 24–62%. The adventitious roots only penetrated 85–116 mm below the water level in all waterlogging treatments. Adventitious root porosity was enhanced up to 10-fold for plants grown in waterlogged soil, depending on water level and position along the roots. Porosity also increased in basal zones of roots above the water level when the younger tissues had penetrated the waterlogged zone. Fourteen days after draining the pots, growth rates of plants where the soil had been waterlogged at 200 mm below the surface had recovered, while those of plants in the more severely waterlogged treatments had only partially recovered. These findings show that the depth of waterlogging has a large impact on the response of wheat both during and after a waterlogging event so that assessment of recovery is essential in evaluating waterlogging tolerance in crops.

Internal aeration is crucial for root growth in waterlogged soil. A barrier to radial oxygen loss (ROL) can enhance long-distance oxygen transport via the aerenchyma to the root tip; a higher oxygen concentration at the apex enables root growth into anoxic soil. The ROL barrier is formed within the outer part of roots (OPR). Suberin and/or lignin deposited in cell walls are thought to contribute to the barrier, but it is unclear which compound is the main constituent. This study describes gene expression profiles during ROL barrier formation in rice roots to determine the relative responses of suberin and/or lignin biosyntheses for the barrier. OPR tissues were isolated by laser microdissection and their transcripts were analysed by microarray. A total of 128 genes were significantly up- or downregulated in the OPR during the barrier formation. Genes associated with suberin biosynthesis were strongly upregulated, whereas genes associated with lignin biosynthesis were not. By an ab initio analysis of the promoters of the upregulated genes, the putative cis-elements that could be associated with transcription factors, WRKY, AP2/ERF, NAC, bZIP, MYB, CBT/DREB, and MADS, were elucidated. They were particularly associated with the expression of transcription factor genes containing WRKY, AP2, and MYB domains. A semiquantitative reverse-transcription PCR analysis of genes associated with suberin biosynthesis (WRKY, CYP, and GPAT) confirmed that they were highly expressed during ROL barrier formation. Overall, these results suggest that suberin is a major constituent of the ROL barrier in roots of rice.