Welcome to the DROOGHT website !
The project DROOGHT aims to identify root traits that enhance crop robustness to drought. The project focuses on understanding below-ground processes in cereal crops, particularly the role of root diameter distribution in water uptake.
The project will use both computational and experimental approaches to identify dominant structural root traits controlling water uptake under water-limited conditions. The outputs will include a multiscale computational framework, a phenotyping pipeline, and the identification of cereal root properties for robust crop across European conditions and climate change scenarios.
We are 3 enthusiastic people that aim at understanding of root systems' role in water uptake and provide practical insights for breeders and crop modelers. . Check the team [here].
We are located in the Plant Ecology, ecoPhysiology and sustainable Agriculture lab, from the Earth and Life Institute Agronomy from the UCLouvain, in Belgium.
We love creating open tools and ressources for the community. Check our 8 tools [here].
Latest publications from the project [1 in total]
Decreased root hydraulic traits in German winter wheat cultivars over 100 years of breeding2025 | Baca Cabrera J, Vanderborght J, Boursiac Y, Behrend D, Gaiser T, Nguyen TH, Lobet G