Potato plants are often exposed to soil drought, which results in crop losses, because potato root system is shallow. The aim of our study was to examine the relationship between root system architecture and drought tolerance. We measured rooting depth, total length, surface area, average diameter, and dry weight of the root system every 20 cm of soil depth. We examined four potato cultivars, two that were more tolerant to drought (Gwiazda and Tajfun), and two that were more sensitive (Oberon and Cekin). Our results showed different responses by the tested cultivars to drought. The root dry mass decreased in response to drought and this decrease was smaller in the more drought-tolerant cultivars. In response to drought, the more drought-tolerant cultivars developed elongated roots, but the roots of the less-tolerant cultivars remained the same length. The decrease in root diameter was also smaller in the more drought-tolerant cultivars.

中文翻译：

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干旱对耐旱性不同的马铃薯品种根系大小和构型的影响不同

马铃薯植株经常遭受土壤干旱，因为马铃薯的根系很浅，导致作物损失。我们研究的目的是研究根系结构与耐旱性之间的关系。我们每20厘米土壤深度测量生根深度，总长度，表面积，平均直径和根系干重。我们检查了四个马铃薯品种，其中两个对干旱的耐受性更高（Gwiazda和Tajfun），另外两个对马铃薯的敏感性更高（Oberon和Cekin）。我们的结果表明，受试品种对干旱的反应不同。根系干重随干旱而减少，在耐旱性更高的品种中，这种减少较小。为了应对干旱，耐旱性更高的品种形成了拉长的根，但是耐性较弱的品种的根保持相同的长度。在更耐旱的品种中，根径的减小也较小。