Root phenotypic plasticity improves yield stability when directed toward an adaptive integrated phenotype
Root phenotypic plasticity is often proposed to improve crop performance under stress, yet it remains unclear how much plasticity is beneficial and whether adaptive responses require changes across many traits or adjustments in few specific traits. Using public data of 6,500 field-grown maize and barley plants, this study examined the extent and distribution of root plasticity, and when it is associated with yield stability. We quantified root plasticity across nine anatomical and architectural traits using complementary statistical models and applied a feature-discovery framework to identify the drought-associated optimal integrated phenotypes and determine whether plasticity toward these phenotypes improved yield stability. More plasticity did not mean greater yield stability. Neither the number of plastic traits nor the magnitude of plastic responses predicted yield stability. Rather, we identified species-specific high-yielding, stable integrated phenotypes defined by distinct trait configurations. Critically, genotypes whose plastic responses moved their root phenotype toward these targets achieved greater yield stability, whereas movement away from them was associated with lower stability. Root plasticity is adaptive when it shifts root phenotypes towards an optimal integrated phenotype. These findings show that the value of plasticity depends on the trajectory of phenotypic change rather than its magnitude alone.