iYacho: Development of Digital Field Note Application for Rapid and Accurate Plant Phenotyping

Efficient, reliable and high-throughput phenotyping method has been required to enhance genomic-assisted crop improvement. In the field phenotyping, a large amount data from the comprehensive and systematic measurements of plant growth should be recorded. However, it is a time-consuming task, and sometimes difficult to carry out large-scale screening. To solve this problem, we are developing an application program for iPod touch device (Apple Inc.), “iYacho”, for supporting field phenotyping. The tasks in field phenotyping are mainly consisted of scoring and recording of target traits. “iYacho” helps the recording tasks via functions of tapping the displayed numeric or items, feeding short notes and shooting pictures. The scoring items can be easily changed according to the user’s demand. The recorded scores and short notes are instantly saved in a database. In addition, the picture files are automatically saved with names including filed, plot and plant IDs along with a shooting date and time. The recorded data can share with other devises of the peoples work with by the synchronized function. The application would help saving field phenotyping labors, decreasing human error in scoring, sharing measuring data with research team in real time, and better understanding a plant growth by calling up historical data. This work was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan (Genomics-based Technology for Agricultural Improvement, NGB-3001 and NGB-3002).