UVALDE – A recent study led Texas A&M AgriLife Research has shown ground-penetrating  radar, or GPR, may be effectively used in detecting the fine roots of plants, helping agricultural producers identify what crop varieties are best suited to their field conditions.

Soil cores were collected immediately after scanning and the core samples containing roots were stored in a freezer until processing. The roots were then cleaned and scanned on a flatbed scanner where root diameter was analyzed. After scanning, roots were oven-dried until constant mass and root dry mass was recorded.