Nighttime Chlorophyll Fluorescence Imaging of Dark-Adapted Plants Using a Robotic Field Phenotyping Platform

Photosynthetic efficiency is increasingly recognized as an integration of plant responses to dynamic environments, establishing the need for data sets from both field trials and controlled environments. A robotic field scanner phenotyping platform at the University of Arizona is equipped with a high-throughput chlorophyll fluorescence imaging system capable of collecting data on field trials for genetic studies of a photosynthetic trait (Fv/Fm). A description of the fluorescence imaging system is provided in addition to methods for measurements across experimental field plots and a test to determine the impact of variable plant heights. The overall focus is on aspects of field applications of a chlorophyll fluorescence imaging system that differ from analogous systems in controlled environments.