Résumé
Field and hydroponic experiments were used to measure root diameter, root number, branching density, and whole root system hydraulic conductance (K rs ). Results showed a significant decline in root axes number and K rs over time, while root diameter remained stable across cultivars. Additionally, dynamic functional-structural modeling using the whole-plant model CPlantBox was employed to simulate the development of K rs with root system growth, revealing that older cultivars consistently had higher hydraulic conductance than modern ones. The combined approach of field phenotyping and modeling provided a comprehensive view of the changes in root traits with breeding. These findings suggest that breeding may have unintentionally favored cultivars with smaller root systems and more conservative water uptake strategies, under the high-input, high-density conditions of modern agriculture. The lessons from this study may inform future breeding efforts aimed at optimizing wheat root systems, helping to develop cultivars with water uptake better tailored to locally changing environmental conditions.