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Rhizobox and Root pheNotyping Systems For Root, Rhizosphere and Soil Studies

Study the "hidden half" of plants, the rhizosphere and soil in VSI Rhizobox and Germination Pouch Systems

  • VSI - Rhizoboxes, Root Boxes
  • VSI - RhizonBoxes for Soil Water Sampling
  • VSI - Rhizobox rack systems
  • VSI - Chambers for root boxes (gas flux, isotope labelling)
  • VSI - Growth pouches for HT Root Phenotyping
  • VSI - Root Phenobox
  • RRP - Rhizon Irrigator

Custom-Made Observation Systems for Ex Situ Root and Rhizosphere Experimentation & HT Root Phenotyping

Vienna Scientific developed an ecosystems of rhizobox tools optimized to monitor roots and/or soil processes under controlled conditions in vivo:

  • Rhizoboxes,
  • Rhizonboxes (for soil water sampling with Rhizon, and RhizonIrrigators etc.),
  • Hydroponic Rootboxes for flooded conditions (coming soon),
  • Rhizobox racks - and cooling racks (coming soon) - for angled placement of boxes,
  • Gas flux and isotope labelling chambers for rhizoboxes, 
  • Imaging and manipulation stands (coming soon),
  • Growth pouch and Root Phenobox systems for soil-free root phenotyping. 

Request costom-made designs, following the suggestions of Yee et al. (2021) or others, or your own designs by filling in the configuration form. Orders up to 5 rhizoboxes can be placed via the webstore within the EU. Please contact us for customization requests and design recommendations.


Special Rhizobox Designs for Specialised Research & Educational Goals

Rhizobox,  Root box, root imaging boxes, root growth chamber, rhizosphere study
Design examples rhizoboxes. Yee et al. (2021), https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.625752

Rhizobox / RhizonBoxes / root box systems are used to i) separate rhizosphere soil from bulk soil, ii) are a feasible way to study different aspects of soil - soil pore water - root interactions, iii) to measure root growth, turnover and spatial distribution (and a large range of other root traits relevant to characterize root sytems in phenotyping approaches), and iv) to sample defined root types (e.g. age classes, orders) or soil areas (rhizosphere / bulk soil). Recenty, Yee and colleagues (2021) provided a great overview on representative rhizobox designs, showcasing the manifold rhizobox configuration options for specific research questions (see Figure). (Subpannel A) "Classical" Rhizotron/Rhizobox set up, (B) Rhizobox with side-compartment, (C) vertical and (D) horizontal root mat chambers, root boxes with (E) mycorrhizal compartments (e.g. separated by 50 µm mesh and/or air gaps), and (F,G) split-root or -box designs with complete or semi-permeable compartments. See Yee et al. (2021) for details. Please consider the target plant size when selecting a certain rhizobox size (see inset 1 below), and the potential effect of root illumination on your results (see inset 2 below). The integration of RRPs' (Micro-)Rhizons and Rhizon Irrigators into the established VSI Rhizobox systems ("Rhizonboxes") creates advanced opportunities for soil water sampling and manipulation in root boxes. Rhizobox racks for angled placement and top-up chambers for gas flux measurements or isotope labelling complement our root box portfolio. For studies under flooded soil conditions, we are currently developing hydroponic rootboxes. Roots on rhizobox images can be analysed with free or commercial software programs (see below), however, rhizoboxes are also an educative way to illustrate root (and shoot growth) to younger audiences. Ultra large rhizoboxes have been build to exemplify the importance of root systems for plant growth and yield to stakeholders and the general population in educative exhibits at company facilities or natural science museums. 

High-Throughput Growth Pouch and Phenobox Systems for Root Phenotyping

Germination pouch
Maize seedling in growth pouch

Growing paper systems are suitable for screening root system architectures (RSA) of large numbers of seedlings in a rapid and cost-effective manner - allowing their inclusion into high-throughput root phenotyping platforms. Germination pouch systems using plants grown vertically on germination paper / blotter papper have been successfully used in seedling screens for many years and on many species. Researchers have developed and used germination pouch set-ups of many different configurations. Alternatively, root phenotyping boxes provide some mechanical resitance for growing roots. Roots on both soil-less phenotyping systems be analysed with free or commercial software programs (see below), and both are also an educative way to illustrate root growth to younger audiences. Vienna Scientific can manufacture custom-made growth pouch and root phenobox systems meeting your aims. 

Software to Analyse Root Traits in Rhizoboxes and Growth Pouches - Examples

Roots on rhizobox / root box transparent surfaces or after harvest can be analysed with a growing range of free or commercial software programs. Here we give a brief onverview on availabe programms:

  • DIRT (for registered iPlant collaborators)
  • IJ_Rhizo, ImageJ macro 
  • RhizoVision Explorer (Open Source) 
  • Root Trace (freeware)
  • RootFly
  • RootNav (Open Source)
  • SmartRoot (freeware)
  • RhizoChamberMonitor (freeware)
  • WinRhizo Tron, Regent Systems, Canada (commercial)

Please check the great Plant Image Analysis Webpage (carefully collected by Guillaume Lobet and colleagues) for further software packages allowing root analysis.

[Vienna Scientific Instruments is not responsible for the content of external links. ]

  • Soil Sampling
  • Rhizobox & Phenotyping Systems
    • Rhizoboxes
    • RhizonBoxes
    • Hydroponic RootBoxes
    • Rhizobox Racks
    • Rhizobox Cooling Racks
    • Rhizobox Respiration Chambers
    • Rhizobox Stands
    • Growth Pouch Systems
    • Root Phenoboxes
    • Rhizobox Webstore
  • Minirhizotron Systems
  • Gas Flux Systems
  • Insect Rearing
  • Behavior Experiments
  • Labware & Co.
  • Open-hardware

 Questions? Get in contact!

Mr. Seehra, CEO: +43 650 69 74 672

PD Dr. Rewald: +43 677 611 99 406

Mr. Mayer: +43 650 35 89 412 

Email: office@vienna-scientific.com

WhatsApp

News

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RHIZOBOX DESIGN 

New cost & transport efficient, durable rhizobox design!

UAV-based Air Sampling

UAV AIR SAMPLING

UAV-based air sampler are now scientifically tested and available!

AS-21 Automatic minirhizotron camera system for root imaging

AUTOMATIC UHD ROOT IMAGER

AC-21 camera for 24/7 root imaging in situ!

Scientific Editing Services by VSI

SCIENTIFIC SERVICES

We review & edit your scientific documents and grant applications!

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