Dynamic Plant Phenotyping for future proofing crop productivity

New capabilities in plant productivity research

This facility houses a PSI Plantscreen™ Robotic XYZ System which enables high-precision automated phenotyping of plants of a range of sizes. The XYZ robot gantry system operates a sensor-to-plant system, with a range of sensors on the platform operating at pre-defined intervals. The system can be programmed to move the imaging array sequentially between specified locations. Specific measurement times can be entered and a variety of morphological and physiological parameters assessed.

A range of specialised cameras can capture spatial and temporal images of plants under various conditions and use these to determine key traits such as growth (using RGB), photosynthetic rates (using chlorophyll fluorescence), water loss and leaf temperature (using thermography). Also included is a hyperspectral camera capable of taking reflectance images from plants at a range of different wavelengths covering both NVIS and SWIR for known and novel signature detection. A comprehensive software package and graphical interface enables easy data acquisition, image analysis and control of the system.

The advantage of our system is that the phenotyping equipment is installed within our novel newly constructed dynamic indoor environment, capable of mimicking any outdoor environment both now and in the future. This capability will not only enable users to translate genetic resources into targets for crop improvement, but it will also facilitate the development of new phenotyping approaches.

DynSCREEN represents critical investment for UK plant phenotyping and is aimed at promoting collaboration and increased access to users within both the public research sector and industry.  Access is available to the wider community at a charge as part of the UKRI’s commitment to increase UK phenotyping capabilities. The rate will be calculated based on usage and technical support and subject to demand and capacity. It is anticipated that this system will be maintained throughout the project and afterwards as part of the development of new capabilities under the UKPCPI scoping trial and future phenotyping hubs to ensure that UK phenotyping remains at the forefront in research excellence.

Funding

This project was funded by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).