How Jerusalem artichoke could maintain high tuber yield under
drought stress has not been clearly understood. A better understanding
on the mechanisms underlying high tuber yield under
drought stress could lead to the success in breeding of Jerusalem
artichoke for drought resistance. The information on the physiological
traits related to drought avoidance mechanism that can
maintain highwater uptake and high tuber yield under drought has
not been clearly investigated for Jerusalem artichoke. A better understanding
on the root response of Jerusalem artichoke under
drought stress should be useful for improving high tuber dry
weight under water limited conditions. Drought resistance in crop
may be enhanced by improving the extraction of water from the
soil. Our study demonstrated that Jerusalem artichoke genotypes
responded to drought to maintain high tuber dry weight under
mild and severe soil moisture conditions. The results of this study
also demonstrated the significant correlations between root traits
and tuber weight under mild and severe drought conditions,
indicating that roots are important in maintaining tuber yield in
Jerusalem artichoke under drought conditions