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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 6, 2026

Cereal Crop Ear Counting in Field Conditions Using Zenithal RGB Images

Cereal Crop Ear Counting in Field Conditions Using Zenithal RGB Images

Published on: February 2, 2019

Blurring the boundaries between cereal crops and model plants.

Philippa Borrill¹

¹School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.

The New Phytologist

|October 2, 2019

Summary

Advances in gene editing and speed breeding overcome challenges in studying major cereal crops like rice, maize, and wheat. This research facilitates discoveries for increasing global food production.

Keywords:

Arabidopsis thaliana Oryza sativa (rice)Triticum aestivum (wheat)Zea mays ssp. mays (maize)cereals crops model plants

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Last Updated: Jan 6, 2026

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Area of Science:

Plant biology
Crop science
Genomics

Background:

Cereal crops (rice, maize, wheat) are vital food sources, but their large size, long lifecycles, and genomes hinder biological study.
The model plant Arabidopsis thaliana offers insights but isn't always directly applicable to cereals.
Traditional research methods face limitations in understanding complex cereal biology.

Purpose of the Study:

To highlight how new technologies address challenges in cereal crop research.
To emphasize the potential of major cereals as experimental systems.
To underscore the direct applicability of cereal research to enhancing food production.

Main Methods:

Leveraging advancements in gene editing technologies.
Utilizing speed breeding techniques for accelerated research cycles.
Employing improved genome assembly methods for major crops.

Main Results:

Overcoming practical difficulties in studying rice, maize, and wheat.
Making these major cereal crops more accessible for experimental research.
Developing resources like mutant collections and genome sequences for cereals.

Conclusions:

Modern techniques enable overcoming biological study challenges in major cereal crops.
Cereal crops are now attractive systems for biological discovery.
Research in these crops directly contributes to increasing global food production.