What is required to close the gap between greenhouse and field phenotyping?

After years of using phenotyping platforms in controlled environments, experience has shown that similar systems for field applications are needed to increase efficiency since many traits can often be reproduced with unsatisfying correlations under field conditions. Vice versa one can assume that interesting traits might also escape screening routines in controlled environments.

To close this gap between greenhouse and field trials we have developed FieldScan- a platform to screen thousands of plants under field conditions in high temporal and spatial resolution for genotypes with improved resistance to drought, heat stress, salinity or with other relevant traits.

FieldScan facilitates automated phenotyping of thousands of plants or plots many times a day with assessment of a diverse range of plant parameters via our PlantEye 3D laser scanner. Transpiration rates can be recorded using gravimetric measurements for selected pots. All major crops including maize, wheat, soy bean, rice and many more can be screened with FieldScan.

All data is seamlessly integrated with corresponding environmental data like PAR, T, RH or wind-speed and can be rapidly accessed via the R project for all further statistical data analysis.