Sho elomics: Measu ing aba bean oo ai s
in he ield
P oblem
Roo sys ems and hei in e ac ions wi h soil a e c u-
cial o c op pe o mance, h ough he cap u e o
wa e and nu ien s. These oo unc ions a e im-
po an o enhancing c op esilience agains cli-
ma e change. Howe e , s udying and measu ing
oo sys ems is mo e labou in ensi e compa ed o
he abo e-g ound pa s.
Solu ion
To acili a e he complex s udy o oo s ai s, he
sho elomics me hod was de eloped o aba bean.
The me hod measu es oo ai s on plan s sam-
pled wi h a spade. This ela i ely simple me hod in-
ol es he assessmen o he 3D a chi ec u e o he
oo c own in he op soil and he measu emen o a
ange o in e es ing oo ai s (see igu e 1).
Bene i s and weaknesses
The sho elomics me hod was de eloped o
high- h oughpu ield pheno yping and is he e o e
well sui ed o b eeding p og ammes. The me hod
is limi ed o he oo s ex ac ed in he op ~20 cm o
soil. Measu emen s can be aken a any ime om
he s a o s em ex ension o lowe ing. No special-
is ools a e equi ed.
P ac ical ecommenda ions
In he ield
Fi e plan s should be exca a ed a each plo o sam-
pling poin using a spade, making su e o emo e
he ull oo c own o a dep h o a ound 20 cm. The
oo c owns wi h soil a e hen placed in bucke s o
wa e o so en he soil; o some soil ypes, adding
a small amoun o soap can help. Once he soil has
loosened, i should be ca e ully emo ed wi hou
damaging he oo s. Lea e he cleaned oo sam-
ples in wa e un il measu emen .
Applicabili y box
Theme: Faba bean oo measu emen s
Rele ance: Sho elomics enables he measu e-
men o oo ai s and oo c own wi hin he
op 20 cm o soil.
Bes in: mois and so soils; any ime om he
s a o s em ex ension o lowe ing
Measu ed ai s pe plan :
oo angle (°),
max dep h o oo sys em (mm),
su ace oo d y weigh (g),
s em wid h a soil le el (mm),
ap oo diame e (mm),
oo leng h and numbe (mm, #),
epico yl oo numbe (#),
shoo and oo biomass (g)
Requi ed ime:
Analysis pe plo (5 plan s):
app ox. 2.5 h
Equipmen :
Spade, bucke s, wa e , soap, g adua ed scale,
balance, o en, sho elomics boa d
P ac ice Abs ac
In he lab
Wi h he help o a Sho elomics boa d, measu e he
ollowing oo ai s: oo angle, max dep h o oo
sys em, su ace oo d y weigh , s em wid h a soil
le el, ap oo diame e , oo leng h and numbe , ep-
ico yl oo numbe , shoo and oo biomass. Op ion-
ally, nodula ion can be assessed by eco ding he
numbe , size and ac i i y o nodules and assigning
a nodula ion sco e, while oo d y weigh may also
be de e mined i equi ed.
Roo 2Resilience has ecei ed unding om he Eu o-
pean Union’s Ho izon Eu ope esea ch and inno a ion
p og amme unde G an Ag eemen No. 101060124.
I s wo k is suppo ed by Inno a e UK h ough he
Ho izon Eu ope Gua an ee scheme G an Ag eemen
No. 101060124 and by he Swiss S a e Sec e a ia o
Educa ion, Resea ch and Inno a ion (SERI) unde g an
No. 23.00050.
Views and opinions exp essed a e howe e hose o
he au ho (s) only and do no necessa ily e lec hose
o he Eu opean Union, UK Resea ch and Inno a ion
(UKRI), Eu opean Resea ch Execu i e Agency (REA)
o he Swiss S a e Sec e a ia o Educa ion, Resea ch
and Inno a ion (SERI). Nei he he Eu opean Union
no any o he g an ing au ho i y can be held espon-
sible o hem.
The au ho s and edi o s do no assume esponsibili y
o liabili y o any possible ac ual inaccu acies o
damage esul ing om he applica ion o he ecom-
menda ions in his p ac ice abs ac .
Fu he in o ma ion
This me hod was de eloped by ADAS o he Roo 2Res p ojec . I was adap ed om he me hods desc ibed in Bu idge e al.,
2016 and Bu idge e al., 2020.
•Bu idge, J., Jochua, C. N., Bucksch, A., & Lynch, J. P. (2016). Legume sho elomics: high— h oughpu pheno yping o common
bean (Phaseolus ulga is L.) and cowpea (Vigna unguicula a subsp, unguicula a) oo a chi ec u e in he ield. Field C ops
Resea ch, 192, 21-32.
•Bu idge, J. D., Ranga ajan, H., & Lynch, J. P. (2020). Compa a i e phenomics o annual g ain legume oo a chi ec u e. C op
science, 60(5), 2574-2593.
•Beauchêne, K., Guillem, P., Bax e , C., Whi e, C., Schwalm, H., Obu ge , E., Bales ini, R., Sillo, F. (2023). Deli e able 2.1: Pheno-
yping oolbox - A chi ec u al ai s. A ailable a h ps:// oo 2 es.eu/home/knowledge-cen e /.
•Roo 2Res. (2024). Sho elomics in Faba Beans: A P ac ical Guide. YouTube. h ps://www.you ube.com/wa ch? =8IaHNG 50dg.
Abou his p ac ice abs ac and Roo 2Resilience
Publishe : ADAS
Au ho s: Cha lo e Whi e (ADAS), Ch is ina Bax e (ADAS),
Ka ia Beauchêne (ARVALIS), Camille Ha el (ARVALIS)
Con ac : cha lo e.[email p o ec ed]o.uk
Re iew: Lau a Kempe (FiBL), Nina Gallmann (FiBL), Tim
Geo ge (JHI), Jean-Pie e Cohan (ARVALIS) and Aleš Kol-
manič (KIS)
Pe malink: h ps://zenodo.o g/ eco ds/17296615
This p ac ice abs ac was elabo a ed in he Roo 2Resilience
p ojec , based on he EIP AGRI p ac ice abs ac o ma .
© 2025
Roo 2Resilience: The p ojec is unning om Sep embe
2022 o Augus 2027. The o e all goal o Roo 2Resilience –
Roo pheno yping and gene ic imp o emen o o a ional
c ops esilien o en i onmen al change – is o de elop oo
pheno yping, gene ic and modelling ools and use hem
o de ine and es inno a i e geno ype ideo ypes able o
enhance he ole ance o abio ic s ess and ca bon seques-
a ion in soils
P ojec websi e: oo 2 es.eu
Funding
Figu e 1: Sho elomics enables he cha ac e isa ion o below-g ound measu emen s o aba bean oo sys ems.
