Root systems are branched networks that develop from simple growth properties of their individual roots. Yet a mature maize root system has many thousands of roots that each interact with soil structures, water and nutrient patches, and microbial ecologies in the micro-environments surrounding each root tip. Although the plasticity of root growth to these and other environmental factors is well known, how the many local processes contribute over time to global features of root system architecture is hardly understood. We employ an automated 3D root imaging pipeline to capture the growth of maize roots every four hours throughout seven days of seedling development. We model the contrasting architectures of two maize inbred genotypes and their hybrid to derive key parameters that distinguish complex growth patterns as a function of time. The statistical characteristics of local root growth defined the global system properties despite a large range of trait values. “Computational dissection” of a single root from each root system identified differences in the size of the root branching zone and lateral branching densities, but not radial patterns, that drove the contrasting root architectures from seedling to maturity. X-ray imaging of mature field-grown root crowns showed that seedling growth trajectories persisted throughout development and could predict eventual architectures, suggesting a strong genetic basis. The work connects individual and systemwide scales of root growth dynamics, providing the means for a function-valued approach to understanding the genetic and genetic x environment conditioning of root growth that will enable breeding for enhanced root traits.

When and where roots grow determines their ability to capture short-lived and patchy water and nutrient resources to support the aboveground organs of the plant. Roots have no known long-distance external sensing mechanisms, but form branched networks that blindly explore the soil and respond to encountered local stimuli. How global architectures form from the many thousands of these local responses, and how they are controlled genetically are major open questions. Here we quantify differences in local root growth patterns of two inbred genotypes of maize that control contrasting systemwide properties. Measurements at the seedling stage were highly correlated with the complex architectures of mature root systems, paving the way for the development of crops with greater resource uptake capacity.