In this project, we examine how root and rhizosphere properties affect crop tolerance to drying and salinity stresses, which root and rhizosphere traits allow reducing abiotic stresses and which irrigation management can result in optimal stress tolerances in a crop. We use an innovative experimental setup using both classical and geophysical methods to simultaneously measure plant transpiration, water content distribution in the soil and water potential at the plant xylem. We will also use a physically based model to interpret the experimental results and to test different management scenarios.