Precision Drought Phenotyping System

• Subject Area: Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine
• Term: from 2021 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 461868281

The requested infrastructure is a technical extension of an existing drought stress phenotyping platform with a fully automated system for daily recording of three-dimensional, multi-spectral images of crops in large containers. The aim is to record the plant architecture associated with drought stress reactions in a field-like plant stand in unprecedented detail throughout the entire growing season. For around ten years, experiments have been conducted in large plant containers at the Rauischholzhausen Agricultural Research Station (LFE) of Justus Liebig University Giessen in order to generate performance-relevant data on important crop plants under "semi-controlled, field-like conditions". The work is an essential part of our research into crop drought stress tolerance. Based on highly successful preliminary trials, we constructed a self-designed, globally-unique phenotyping platform in 2018, funded internally at a cost of approx. 550 t EUR. This platform consists of 240 large plant containers (90 l volume, 90 cm depth, filled with approx. 160 kg field soil), each of which is permanently placed on its own precision load-cell, thus enabling an exact gravimetric recording of the water uptake behaviour over the entire vegetation period. The water supply to each container is simultaneously individually controlled by a precise, computer-controlled irrigation system, so that different drought stress scenarios can be simulated under ceteris paribus conditions. In contrast to smaller platforms of this type, the plants are sown in field-like sowing densities instead of individually, in order to record the water use and drought stress behaviour in a realistic plant stand with the highest possible precision.In the extension concept for this platform, an autonomous sensor-to-plant system for fully automatic recording of the plant architecture is now planned. A scanning carriage with a mast that can be rotated by 180 degrees travels daily on mounted L-rails between the load-cells (which are arranged in rows) and produces digital images of the test plants. Four-dimensional images (3D point cloud plus colour code for each pixel) are assembled with a 3D dual scanner. The combination of gravimetric recording of water uptake, cultivation of the plants in large containers and daily, non-invasive, highly accurate measurement of the plant population is unique in Germany and has only been installed at one ICRISAT site in India with much smaller, single-plant containers. Other smaller installations without complementary 3D phenotyping are located in Israel, for example. In contrast to more common systems which use a plant-to-sensor approach, the system envisaged here allows the individual containers to be left standing permanently on the load cells, thus ensuring uninterrupted measurement of water uptake throughout the entire vegetation period.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Präzisionsphänotypisierungssystem für Trockenstress (Teilfinanzierung)
• Instrumentation Group: 5450 Photographische Spezialkameras (Luftbild-, Registrier-, Stereo-, außer
• Applicant Institution: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen
• Leader: Professor Dr. Rod Snowdon