PREPs: An Open-Source Software for High-Throughput Field Plant Phenotyping

An open-source software for field-based plant phenotyping, Precision Plots Analyzer (PREPs), was developed using Window.NET. The software runs on 64-bit Windows computers. This software allows the extraction of phenotypic traits on a per-microplot basis from orthomosaic and digital surface model (DSM) images generated by Structure-from-Motion/Multi-View-Stereo (SfM-MVS) tools. Moreover, there is no need to acquire skills in geographical information system (GIS) or programming languages for image analysis. Three use cases illustrated the software's functionality. The first involved monitoring the growth of sugar beet varieties in an experimental field using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), where differences among varieties were detected through estimates of crop height, coverage, and volume index. Second, mixed varieties of potato crops were estimated using a UAV and varietal differences were observed from the estimated phenotypic traits. A strong correlation was observed between the manually measured crop height and UAV-estimated crop height. Finally, using a multicamera array attached to a tractor, the height, coverage, and volume index of the 3 potato varieties were precisely estimated. PREPs software is poised to be a useful tool that allows anyone without prior knowledge of programming to extract crop traits for phenotyping.