PlaFe: an outdoor platform for crop phenotyping under progressive drought

Abstract

The selection of genotypes adapted to water stress requires experimental facilities that allow environmental control without compromising physiological and yield relevance. The objective of this study was to design and validate an outdoor phenotyping semi-controlled platform, PlaFe, which comprised sixty-two high-volume prismatic lysimeters arranged in rows 1.2 m long and spaced 0.6 m apart. Soil water dynamics were monitored weekly using a weighting system. To validate PlaFe, two soybean genotypes were exposed to two water scenarios for forty days from R2 + 7d, during two growing seasons. Two irrigation treatments were applied: irrigation to keep soil water content over 60–70 % of field capacity (EH0), and irrigation equivalent to 35 % of that applied in EH0 (EH1). Water consumption, crop biomass, and pod number were determined at maturity. On average, water stress reduced both biomass and pod numbers by 40 %. However, reproductive efficiency varied among genotypes. Canopy temperature increased by 0.56 °C as daily water consumption decreased, demonstrating its potential to assess drought. These results demonstrate PlaFe’s potential for the accurate evaluation of crop response and adaptation to diverse water scenarios without compromising the complex plant-environment interactions inherent to field conditions.

Plant phenotyping relevance

PlaFeという屋外半制御型フェノタイピングプラットフォームを設計・検証しており、植物の水消費、バイオマス、莢数、群落温度などの表現型評価が研究の中心である。

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