Root hairs play an important role in the uptake of immobile elements (e.g. phophorous) but our understanding of their role in root water uptake is still unsatisfying.

In the course of your master thesis, you will assist in supervising a field experiment at the experimental research station Bad Lauchstaedt by installing and maintaining different soil and plant sensors. The collected data, comprising of soil parameters like soil water potential as well as plant parameters e.g. leaf water potential and sap flow, will serve as a basis for your thesis. Comparing the data of two maize genotypes differing in the property of building root hairs, you will investigate the effect of root hairs on transpiration and leaf water potential over an entire cropping cycle.
Furthermore, maize plants will be grown in two different soil textures (sand and loam), which allows the investigation of the impact of these soil textures on the different genotypes.

The field experiment in Bad Lauchstaedt is part of a DFG-funded priority programme (SPP 2089) which aims at the identification of spatiotemporal patterns in the rhizosphere and at the explanation of the underlying processes. Our measurements started in 2019 and the period of your master thesis will cover the second growing season.

A driving license for reaching the field experiment is needed. All your travel costs to Bad Lauchstaedt and your corresponding expenses will be reimbursed by the Department of Soil Physics.