Phenotyping methods and phenological stages to quantify the root system of common bean

Abstract The objective of this work was to evaluate root phenotyping methods and the ideal phenological stage to quantify the root system of fixed and segregating common bean populations, in order to select superior genotypes. The experiment was carried out in two municipalities in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, and the treatments consisted of six genotypes, the Shovelomics and WinRHIZO root phenotyping methods, and the V4-4, R6, and R8 phenological stages. The simple lattice experimental design was used to evaluate the following variables: basal root angle, vertical root length, left and right horizontal root length, total root length, projected area, and root average volume and diameter. For all variables, there was a significant interaction between phenotyping methods and phenological stages, showing their influence on root system evaluation. The Shovelomics and WinRHIZO phenotyping methods are efficient in quantifying the root system of common bean plants and show specificity for phenological stages, regardless of the genotype. The quantification of the root system of fixed and segregating genotypes is analogous in both methods. The Shovelomics method is more efficient in evaluating the root system of common bean at the R8 stage, and the WinRHIZO method, at the R6 stage.