Aims Gradients in water potential of soil and plant system drives the water movement in soil-plant-atmospheric continuum. Here, we demonstrate how root water potential measured directly from the roots upon changes in soil water potential would contribute to the understanding of the drought response in Chrysopogon zizanoides . Methods Plants of Chrysopogon zizanoides L. were sampled at different soil water status (inducing drou...

Aims Root tensile tests are often rejected if failure location is outside the middle section of samples. This study aims to identify where and why failure occurs along a root axis, and hence to revisit current approaches to test-validity. Methods Roots from Festuca arundinacea; Lolium multiflorum; Lolium perenne were sampled from field-grown plants. Roots were tensile tested using a universal testing machine. Root samples were...