A COMPARISON OF METHODOLOGY FOR ROOT EXUDATE COLLECTION OF GRASSES

Root exudates are an ephemeral yet important part of plant physiology and plant interactions with the environment. Root exudates have a variety of forms and functions that serve to aid the plant in survivability, nutrient acquisition, endophyte attraction, and more. The aim is to create a low-cost and easily reproducible method to collect said root exudates for future work as well as under a preliminary stress treatment. The combination of methods involving leachate and semi-hydroponic is to compare popular methods as well as weigh the viability of each, while attempting to have an accurate analysis of what is being exuded.