Lights, camera, action: high-throughput plant phenotyping is ready for a close-up

Anticipated population growth, shifting demographics, and environmental variability over the next century are expected to threaten global food security. In the face of these challenges, crop yield for food and fuel must be maintained and improved using fewer input resources. In recent years, genetic tools for profiling crop germplasm has benefited from rapid advances in DNA sequencing, and now similar advances are needed to improve the throughput of plant phenotyping. We highlight recent developments in high-throughput plant phenotyping using robotic-assisted imaging platforms and computer vision-assisted analysis tools.

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: IIA-1355406, IOS-1202682
• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy

  Award: DOE-SC-008796
• NI
  National Institute of Food and Agriculture

  Award: MOW-2012-01361
• AR
  Agricultural Research Service