Phenotyping: New Windows into the Plant for Breeders

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Biology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Plant phenotyping is crucial for understanding plant structure, function, and environmental interactions.
• High-capacity phenotyping allows for the study of previously inaccessible phenotypic characteristics.
• Diverse applications of phenotyping are utilized by scientists, prebreeders, and breeders for crop improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in plant phenotyping technologies for seed, shoot, and root traits.
• To highlight the role of proximal and remote sensing in field phenotyping.
• To discuss the integration of data science and robotics with plant phenotyping.

Main Methods:

• Noninvasive technologies for analyzing experimental and breeding populations.
• Controlled-environment and field phenotyping approaches.
• Proximal and remote sensing technologies for plant analysis.

Main Results:

• Field phenotyping technologies are becoming state-of-the-art, accelerating early-generation breeding.
• Rapid advances in proximal and remote sensing are enhancing plant analysis in fields.
• New collaborations with data science and robotics are emerging.

Conclusions:

• Plant phenotyping is essential for crop improvement by enabling detailed trait analysis.
• Emerging technologies and interdisciplinary collaborations are poised to revolutionize plant breeding.
• Focus on generating FAIR data and on-farm applications will drive future phenotyping research.