Applications of Digital Plant Phenotyping to Crop Science and Basic Plant Biology

Applied plant science studies aim to improve yield and crop performance under variable environmental conditions, where basic biology’s over-arching goal is to deepen the understanding of all levels of a biological system. These disciplines are not mutually exclusive, in fact, they share many of the same scientific goals, and technological advances can be applied to both types of study. Here we will discuss the applications of novel imaging techniques to plant breeding, biotech trait development, and fundamental plant biology. Commonalities and key differences between basic and applied approaches will be discussed, including challenges and opportunities. Model building, algorithm development, and experimental design will be highlighted with an encouraging pilot study quantifying growth and developmental parameters in tomato.