European Journal of Sustainable Agroecosystems

Background: Maize (Zea mays L.) is a crucial global crop contributing to food security and bioenergy. Nonetheless, this species is challenged by rising climate-induced drought events affecting its production. The root system architecture (RSA) defines the arrangement of roots in relation to soil depth; acting as a point of water acquisition, RSA is a primary target for breeding drought-resistant cultivars. 
Objective of the review: The current review aims at summarizing relevant advances in RSA studies that have taken place recently. It will also evaluate existing strategies for genetic improvement of RSA. Sources of literature: The literature review was conducted for peer-reviewed papers that appeared in the period from 2015 until 2026 in the major databases such as Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and PubMed; as well as important documents from agricultural organizations. 
Major findings: As a result of the analysis, it was revealed that the 'steep, cheap, and deep' ideotype is beneficial in terms of allowing water acquisition through minimizing the metabolism of plants. The advancement of 3D imaging technology, notably X-ray Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging, in combination with artificial intelligence and convolution neural networks, has led to the introduction of dimensional topological features extraction. On the molecular and genetic level, significant genes like ZmDRO1 and qSOR1 act via interactions with hormonal signaling pathways, including auxin-abscisic acid response, to influence the direction and flexibility of roots in cases of water deficiency. Existing research gaps range between poor applicability of phenotyping results in the field, high cost of the technology, and absence of coupling between macroscopic architectural traits and microscopic anatomical processes in the maize root system.