Plant phenotyping methods.

BioIMA: a one-click desktop tool for standardized extraction of phenotypic traits from biological images →

Standardized extraction of quantitative phenotypes from images is increasingly important across plant biology, from ecological and evolutionary studies to genetics, breeding, and functional genomics. However, as large image datasets are increasingly used for trait analysis, many biologically relevant traits, including size, shape, color, and spatial patterning, are still measured manually or using fragmented semi-automated workflows. These limitations reduce throughput, reproducibility, and accessibility, especially for researchers without computational expertise. Here, we present BioIMA, an open-source desktop tool for rapid and standardized phenotyping from biological images. BioIMA integrates foundation model-based segmentation with automated trait computation, allowing users to extract quantitative measurements from images through an intuitive graphical interface and without model training. To validate its performance, we quantified a set of knot morphological traits in two Populus species, as these measurements are typically time-consuming to perform manually. Automatic measurements showed strong agreement with manual ImageJ-based measurements (R2 > 0.95), while reducing per-image processing time by approximately 75% (from ~15 s to ~4 s). BioIMA was further applied to diverse plant datasets, including Helianthus and Rhododendron images with varying morphologies and background conditions. Although developed for plant phenotyping, BioIMA may also be extended to other biological samples where region-based size, shape, or color traits are of interest. By combining accessibility and standardization in a lightweight local application, BioIMA provides a practical community resource for image-based phenotyping in ecological and evolutionary studies.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物画像から形態形質を自動抽出するツールの開発と、手動測定との性能検証が中心であるため。

abstractHere, we present BioIMA, an open-source desktop tool for rapid and standardized phenotyping from biological images.

Denoising-Aware Temporal Point Cloud Completion for 3D Crop Architecture Recovery and Phenotypic Trait Extraction →

High-throughput phenotyping depends on accurate 3D reconstruction of plants across growth stages, yet the development and evaluation of temporal completion methods are limited by the lack of datasets with complete geometric ground truth. To address this challenge, we introduce SynthCrop4D, a procedurally generated synthetic dataset of temporally evolving plant point clouds that provides controllable noise, occlusion, and complete plant geometry for benchmarking reconstruction methods. Using this dataset, we evaluate a two-stage pipeline that combines spatial denoising and temporal point cloud completion. First, a denoising module removes structural artifacts from raw laser-scanned point clouds. The resulting data are then processed by an Adaptive Temporal PoinTr model that reconstructs the current growth stage (t) using information from the previous stage (t-1), enabling recovery of regions missing due to self-occlusion. We evaluate the proposed framework on both SynthCrop4D and the real-world Pheno4D dataset (tomato and maize) under settings with and without denoising. Results show that denoising substantially improves reconstruction quality, with the best configuration achieving a Chamfer Distance of 0.0061 on SynthCrop4D (Temporal PoinTr + Mamba-DG) and an F-Score of 0.2080 on Pheno4D (Vanilla PoinTr + Mamba-DG). We further demonstrate the use of completed point clouds for phenotypic trait extraction, including plant height, canopy width, and convex hull volume, obtaining hull-volume MAEs of 0.021 on synthetic data and 0.343 on real data. Together, SynthCrop4D and the proposed pipeline provide a benchmark and methodology for temporal plant reconstruction and high-throughput crop phenotyping.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物の3D点群再構成・時系列補完を開発し、合成データセットと実データで性能検証するとともに、草丈・群落幅・凸包体積を抽出する手法を中心に扱っている。

abstractwe introduce SynthCrop4D, a procedurally generated synthetic dataset of temporally evolving plant point clouds that provides controllable noise, occlusion, and complete plant geometry for benchmarking reconstruction methods.

Unsupervised machine-learning identifies latent pyrenoid states linked to mitotic remodeling defects and CO2-dependent growth →

Biomolecular condensates that persist through cell division must be reorganized and inherited, yet it remains unclear whether subtle defects before division are associated with later organelle or growth phenotypes. We examined the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii pyrenoid, a liquid-like condensate that concentrates ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco), the photosynthetic CO2-fixing enzyme. As part of the algal CO2-concentrating mechanism, the pyrenoid raises CO2 availability around Rubisco. We generated an RBCS1-mGold Rubisco reporter and developed an unsupervised image-analysis pipeline combining a convolutional autoencoder and a one-class support vector machine. Using 4,905 wild-type single-cell images, augmented 22-fold to 107,910 image instances, we defined the range of normal pyrenoid morphology. A combined machine-learning and visual screen of approximately 21,000 insertional mutants yielded 17 pyrenoid integrity mutants (pim1-pim17). Differential reconstruction-error maps highlighted local deviations from the wild-type reference, including phenotypes difficult to classify by eye. Four-dimensional live imaging showed defects in matrix dispersal, partitioning of Rubisco-containing foci, or pyrenoid recondensation in multiple pim strains. Growth assays identified broad defects and phenotypes that became more apparent as CO2 supply decreased. Insertion-site mapping nominated candidate loci, including STT7, which encodes a chloroplast kinase best known for regulating photosynthetic light harvesting. Independent STT7-edited lines lacked detectable STT7 accumulation and showed pyrenoid-region reconstruction-error patterns, supporting an association between impaired STT7 function and altered pyrenoid morphology. These findings show that unsupervised image screening can extend forward genetics to subtle pyrenoid phenotypes accompanied by mitotic remodeling or growth defects.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods藻類細胞のピレノイド形態を対象に、画像解析と教師なし機械学習パイプラインを開発し、正常範囲の定義・変異体スクリーニング・検出性能の実証を行っており、表現型取得手法が研究の中心である。

abstractdeveloped an unsupervised image-analysis pipeline combining a convolutional autoencoder and a one-class support vector machine

Automated Segmentation and Quantitative Analysis of Cotton Fiber Cross Sections Using a Deep Learning-Based Workflow →

Abstract Cross-sectional analysis is considered the reference method for measuring cotton fiber fineness and maturity; however, its widespread use has been limited by labor-intensive sample preparation and manual image analysis. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a reproducible deep-learning-based workflow for automated segmentation and quantitative analysis of cotton fiber cross-sections. A total of 249 composite light microscopy images of cotton fiber cross-sections were collected and manually annotated to generate training and validation datasets. A YOLO11m instance segmentation model was developed to identify cotton fiber and lumen regions and automatically extract quantitative traits, including fiber area, lumen area, fiber perimeter, and lumen perimeter. The workflow integrates automated image segmentation, post-processing, quantitative trait extraction, and data export to facilitate reproducible cotton fiber phenotyping. Model performance was evaluated using mean Average Precision (mAP), and workflow outputs were validated against Adobe Photoshop using descriptive comparisons of six cross-sectional traits. The model achieved Box mAP50 scores of 0.984 for cotton fiber regions and 0.789 for lumen regions, demonstrating high segmentation accuracy. The automated workflow substantially reduced manual analysis time while producing measurements with central tendencies comparable to those obtained using Adobe Photoshop. To facilitate reproducibility and adoption, the workflow, trained model weights, and supporting documentation are publicly available through GitHub and a Hugging Face web application. The workflow substantially increases analytical throughput while providing a reproducible and publicly accessible method for automated cotton fiber cross-sectional phenotyping, facilitating quantitative analysis for cotton genetics and breeding research.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods綿繊維横断面の画像分割、形質抽出、検証を目的とした再現可能な深層学習ワークフローの開発であり、植物フェノタイピング手法が研究の中心である。

abstractThe objective of this study was to develop and validate a reproducible deep-learning-based workflow for automated segmentation and quantitative analysis of cotton fiber cross-sections.

Application of the OliveID morphometric tool for the identification of archaeobotanical carbonized olive endocarps: evidence for morphological continuity with the modern Throumbolia cultivar. →

Introduction This study evaluates the applicability of digital morphometric analysis to images of archaeological carbonized olive endocarps as a proof-of-concept initial approach for archaeobotanical investigations. Conventional morphometric analyses of olive endocarps largely rely on manual measurements, limiting reproducibility and quantitative comparison. Methods Ten archaeological endocarps were selected from previously published archaeological assemblages based on the integrity of their outlines, apex-base morphology and overall preservation quality. Quantitative descriptors describing endocarp size, symmetry, curvature and contour geometry were extracted using the OliveID software and compared with a modern morphometric reference database comprising Greek and international olive cultivars. Results Reliable contour extraction and quantitative descriptor computation were successfully achieved for all archaeological specimens despite carbonization. Preliminary comparison of representative morphometric descriptors showed that the archaeological specimens were positioned within the morphometric variation observed among the modern reference collection. Hierarchical clustering consistently associated the archaeological endocarps with the modern Throumbolia morphotype, while distinguishing them from elongated, globular and mucro-bearing cultivars. Discussion These findings demonstrate the feasibility of applying digital image-based morphometric analysis to sufficiently preserved archaeological carbonized olive endocarps and indicate a similar morphometric affinity between the analyzed archaeological material and the modern Throumbolia cultivar. This proof-of-concept study highlights the potential of digital morphometric approaches for quantitative archaeobotanical investigations of archaeological olive remains, while emphasizing the need for larger archaeological datasets and standardized image acquisition to further validate the observed morphometric similarity.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsOliveIDを用いて炭化オリーブ内果皮の輪郭からサイズ、対称性、曲率、形状記述子を抽出し、デジタル画像形態計測の適用可能性と再現性を評価している。植物器官の形質抽出法が研究の中心である。

abstractThis study evaluates the applicability of digital morphometric analysis to images of archaeological carbonized olive endocarps as a proof-of-concept initial approach for archaeobotanical investigations.

Optimizing resource allocation in Miscanthus breeding via sparse testing designs for genomic prediction. →

Phenotyping high-biomass perennial crops is laborious and the rate of genetic gain in conventional perennial crop breeding programs is typically low. So, it is especially important to identify methods that produce efficiency gains in the breeding process. Miscanthus is a C4 perennial grass with favorable characteristics for producing biomass as a feedstock for biofuels and diverse bio-based products. Increasing biomass yield will increase profitability and environmental benefits, so it is a key target for Miscanthus breeding. In addition, the identification of well-adapted genotypes across a wide range of environmental conditions requires the establishment of multi-environment trials (METs). Sparse testing is a genomic prediction-based strategy that reduces the phenotyping costs in METs by selecting a subset of genotypes to evaluate in a subset of environments and then predicts the performance of the unobserved genotype-environment combinations. A Miscanthus sacchariflorus (MSA) population comprising 336 genotypes observed across three environments was analyzed implementing sparse testing designs. Three prediction models considering main effects (environments, genotypes, genomic) and interaction effects (genotype-by-environment; G×E interaction) were implemented for forecasting dry biomass yield (YDY), total culm (TCM), average internode length (AIL), and culm node number (CNN). Multiple calibration sets based on different compositions and sizes were considered to evaluate performance in terms of the predictive ability (PA) and the mean square error (MSE) for a fixed testing set size. The training set size ranged from 52 to 112 to predict a fixed set of 224 unobserved genotypes across all three environments. The results showed that the model accounting for G×E interaction consistently presented the highest PA and the lowest MSE: for CNN (PA: ~0.77, MSE: ~0.5) and YDY (PA: ~0.70, MSE: ~1.3) while for TCM and AIL these ranged from ~0.28 to 0.41 and ~1.3 to 4.3, respectively. Overall, varying training sets and allocation strategies did not affect PA and MSE, with 52 non-overlapping and 0 overlapping genotypes per environment as the optimal cost-effective allocation framework. This suggests that implementing sparse testing designs could significantly reduce phenotyping costs by fivefold, without compromising PA in breeding programs for perennial crops such as Miscanthus .

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsスパーステスト設計とゲノム予測を用いて、複数環境での植物形質予測と表現型測定コスト削減を評価しており、表現型取得・予測手法が研究の中心である。

abstractSparse testing is a genomic prediction-based strategy that reduces the phenotyping costs in METs by selecting a subset of genotypes to evaluate in a subset of environments and then predicts the performance of the unobserved genotype-environment combinations.

Non-destructive quantification of shoot apical meristem homeostasis for prediction of plant architecture and biomass using robot-based 3D imaging and photosynthesis measurements →

Shoot apical meristem (SAM) homeostasis integrates environmental and genetic cues to regulate growth dynamics that drive biomass accumulation and crop yield; however, no robust, non-destructive, quantitative proxy has been established for modeling or monitoring SAM-homeostasis-associated dynamics. Here, we developed a novel robot-based 3D imaging system and a custom pot-chamber gas exchange system to non-destructively measure plant occupation volume (POV) and whole-plant photosynthetic rate in wild-type Arabidopsis plants and nine mutants with disrupted SAM homeostasis. We demonstrate that POV robustly captures 3D plant architecture, whereas whole-plant photosynthetic rate serves as a superior proxy for optimal growth dynamics and final biomass associated with SAM homeostasis, outperforming conventional traits such as leaf number, leaf size, total leaf area, and rosette diameter. The strong positive correlations among POV, whole plant photosynthesis, and biomass accumulation establish a powerful new framework for quantitative studies of SAM homeostasis and data-driven evaluation of plant architecture.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsロボット3D画像とカスタムガス交換による非破壊的な植物形態・光合成表現型測定系を開発し、従来形質との比較検証も行っており、方法が研究の中心である。

abstractwe developed a novel robot-based 3D imaging system and a custom pot-chamber gas exchange system to non-destructively measure plant occupation volume (POV) and whole-plant photosynthetic rate

A novel approach for tropism characterisation through point cloud analysis →

Background: Tropism, an adaptive growth mechanism often completely overlooked in tree phenotyping studies, is a crucial aspect of tree growth that allows them to reconfigure geometrically in relation to their immediate environment. This study introduces an integrated method to quantify tropic behaviour in plant phenotyping studies. Methods: The methodology combines cost-effective three-dimensional (3D) photogrammetric data capture from video, stem delineation techniques and 3D mathematical modelling of posture control for model-assisted identification of tropism traits. The proposed method was tested on a Pinus radiata D.Don. seedling subjected to a gravitational stimulus for 75 days. Stem posture was repeatedly measured using both 3D photogrammetry and fixed photography to create multitemporal 3D datasets and two-dimensional (2D) reference curves. Results: Individual 3D stem curves reconstructed with the proposed methodology introduced an error on spatial coordinates with a normalised RMSD ranging from 1.6 to 4.3% depending on time of capture, when compared with the 2D reference. The error for local tilt angle was higher than the error on spatial coordinates, with RMSD ranging between 5.6–12.2°, as expected for a first-order derivative. The gravitropic coefficient, capturing the sensing of and the reaction to local inclination by the plant, was underestimated by 2% if compared to the reference methodology. No contribution of autotropism (tendency to remain straight) was identified using the new methodology, but that contribution was found to be small using the 2D-approach and likely a key aspect of the gravitropic signature in the studied species. The major challenge with the proposed point cloud-based methodology arose from automated stem delineation. With dedicated algorithm enhancements to address stem occlusion in juvenile conifers and with more regular captures during plant motion, the proposed method could, however, perform identically to the 2D reference methodology. Overall, recovery of tropism traits performed equivalently whether using 2D or 3D data to fit the model of posture control. The minor discrepancies with experimental behaviour originated from fitting a simple kinematic model to complex real-world behaviour rather than data capture and digitising procedures. Conclusions: Overall, the proposed methodology, in its current form, offers a viable alternative to traditional 2D imagery methods at the cost of a small reduction in accuracy and capture time. The advantage of the 3D methodology is that it has the potential to track motion in multiple planes, whilst also measuring plant structure. With refinement, this methodology could be streamlined and adapted for deployment in field and operational environments at scale for phenotyping studies.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3Dフォトグラメトリ、茎の自動抽出、点群解析、姿勢モデルを統合し、植物の屈性形質を定量化・検証する方法が研究の中心である。

abstractThis study introduces an integrated method to quantify tropic behaviour in plant phenotyping studies.

Drones detect fine-scale vegetation structure across cover types and disturbance histories →

Introduction: Habitat restoration is necessary for the conservation and management of plant and animal species, especially in rare ecosystems. Drones may be well-suited to monitor changes in plant and animal communities in response to restoration efforts. The objective of the study was to examine whether drone imagery can detect differences in vegetation across multiple contexts. Materials and methods: Using a commercially available drone, I captured and processed aerial imagery with an open-source photogrammetric processing program. Point cloud data were processed to generate a vegetation density index, which was quantified across four cover types and compared between disturbance histories. In addition, using automated radio tracking, I compared vegetation density between used and available locations for Eastern Whip-poor-wills during the day and at night. Results: In August 2024, a drone flight covering a 3.05 km2 area of pine barrens captured 3372 images. Vegetation density differed by cover type (p = 0.001) and was greater in recently disturbed sites (p = 0.002). Scrub oak and recently burned sites had ~30% and ~12% greater vegetation density than deciduous forests and plots > 2 years post-disturbance, respectively. Vegetation density was lower at Eastern Whip-poor-will used locations than at available locations (151.0 vs. 159.7 points/m2, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Analysis of fine-scale differences in vegetation structure was important in discriminating subtle differences in habitat selection for Eastern Whip-poor-wills. This study demonstrated that drones and relatively simple image processing can be practical tools for restoration when quantifying and monitoring vegetation differences in dynamic ecosystems.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsドローン画像と点群処理により植生密度・植生構造を定量化する手法を中心に、異なる植生条件での適用性を評価しているため、植物表現型計測の方法適用研究に該当する。

abstractPoint cloud data were processed to generate a vegetation density index, which was quantified across four cover types and compared between disturbance histories.

UNet-ECA-Bio: a biologically informed deep learning model for high-throughput micro-phenotyping of rice stem vascular bundles. →

Rice stem internal structure is a critical micro-phenotype influencing lodging resistance and yield; however, its analysis remains constrained by labor-intensive manual methods. Here, we present a publicly available dataset of 686 rice stem cross-sections, with 21,027 large vascular bundles (LVBs) and 19,342 small vascular bundles (SVBs) manually annotated. Five deep learning architectures were systematically evaluated, among which UNet-VGG16 achieved the best performance with a mean intersection over union (mIoU) of 87.4% (82.49% for LVBs and 74.41% for SVBs). An improved model, UNet-ECA-Bio, further raised mIoU to 89.32% and SVB IoU to 78.97% by integrating Efficient Channel Attention (ECA) and biologically informed class weighting using an image-level dataset. Leveraging these high-accuracy phenotypic predictions, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) indicated concordance between annotated and predicted traits, with SNP overlap rates of 96% (LVB count: 1,217/1,262), 43% (SVB count: 6/14), 98% (stem area: 122/124), and 100% (cavity area: 3/3) at −log10(p) ≥ 6. Meanwhile, compared with manual annotation (estimated 10–30 minutes per image), the proposed approach processed all 686 images within 10 minutes, representing a >600-fold increase in throughput. We further developed a user-friendly software tool, “Rice_Stem_Pre_V1.1.exe,” for automated phenotyping of 14 stem traits, providing a cost-effective platform for genetic studies of lodging resistance and yield improvement.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsイネ茎維管束の画像から複数の表現型形質を自動抽出する深層学習モデル、データセット、検証、ソフトウェアを中心的に開発しており、明確な植物フェノタイピング手法研究である。

abstractwe present a publicly available dataset of 686 rice stem cross-sections, with 21,027 large vascular bundles (LVBs) and 19,342 small vascular bundles (SVBs) manually annotated.

What you plant may not be what you bought: morphological and genetic discordance in specialty Coffea arabica L. cultivars from Ecuador. →

The genetic identity of coffee cultivars is fundamental to the specialty coffee sector, where premium prices are paid under the assumption that the purchased planting material corresponds to the declared variety. However, many producing countries lack the certification infrastructure necessary to guarantee this identity in their informal seed systems, exposing producers to undetected varietal non-conformity. In this study, we examine a case from a specialty coffee ( Coffea arabica L.) farm in southern Ecuador where seeds labeled as Sidra (USD 100/kg) and Gesha (USD 500/kg) were purchased without genetic or phytosanitary certification. Using a combination of SSR-based DNA fingerprinting and quantitative morphological characterization, including plant architecture, leaf functional traits, and fruit characteristics, we documented varietal identity and assessed the discriminant capacity of morphological traits across the four resulting morphotypes. Using eleven microsatellite markers for SSR fingerprinting, we found that two of the four morphotypes did not match their declared commercial identity. One plant sold as Sidra was identified as compatible with Batian, a composite variety of Kenyan origin that is genetically unrelated to Ethiopian landraces. The plants acquired as Gesha corresponded to a pure Ethiopian landrace that is genetically similar to, but not identical to, the Panamanian Geisha reference accession T.02722. Only two morphotypes were confirmed as Sidra. Furthermore, the placement of Sidra within the Core Ethiopia genetic group is consistent with prior population-level analyses and with its likely status as a selected Ethiopian landrace rather than a variety of hybrid origin. Morphological linear discriminant analysis achieved 82.4% overall classification accuracy under leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV), with internode length dominating the first discriminant function (LD1 = 66.6%). These results demonstrate that varietal nonconformity in the specialty coffee seed sector can extend to the inadvertent introduction of genetically unrelated material and underscore the urgent need for accessible seed certification.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsコーヒー品種識別のための形態形質測定と判別分析が研究の中心であり、形態形質の識別性能をLOOCVで検証しているため、植物フェノタイピング手法の適用・検証に該当する。

abstractquantitative morphological characterization, including plant architecture, leaf functional traits, and fruit characteristics

EcoMorph: Universal morphological trait quantification from natural language prompts for ecological research →

0. Morphological traits such as floral area and body size are fundamental to ecological research, serving as inputs for studies of pollinator–plant interactions, habitat quality, and biodiversity monitoring. However, accurately measuring these traits from images remains challenging, particularly in complex field conditions where existing tools exhibit reduced accuracy and limited generalizability across taxa. We present EcoMorph, a modular morphological measurement system that leverages the Segment Anything Model 3 (SAM3) to quantify traits across diverse ecological contexts. Unlike task-specific segmentation models requiring domain-specific training data, SAM3’s prompt-based architecture enables segmentation of arbitrary biological structures from natural-language prompts, using the same underlying model across flowers, insects, and other targets without retraining. From the resulting segmentations, EcoMorph extracts three classes of measurement: area, linear dimensions, and object counts. We validated EcoMorph across two ecological scales. At the intermediate scale, EcoMorph-derived floral area agreed closely with manual ImageJ measurements (R 2 = 0.935, n = 74) under simple-background conditions and (R 2 = 0.928, n = 58) under complex-background conditions, with valid predictions for 95% of images. At the fine scale, EcoMorph-derived insect body area was strongly correlated with hand-measured intertegular distance (r = 0.810, n = 349), capturing body-size variation across species from the small Bombus impatiens to the large Xylocopa virginica . Object counts matched manual counts almost exactly for well-separated insects in an insect box (R 2 = 0.9997, n = 12). By combining prompt-based segmentation with modular measurement, EcoMorph enables high-throughput quantification of area, size, and abundance from heterogeneous image sources without taxon-specific training. This generality supports a broad range of ecological applications, including pollinator and plant trait research, biodiversity and abundance monitoring, and allometric biomass estimation.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods画像から花の面積など植物形態形質を抽出する汎用システムを開発し、手動測定との一致で検証しており、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractWe present EcoMorph, a modular morphological measurement system that leverages the Segment Anything Model 3 (SAM3) to quantify traits across diverse ecological contexts.

PlantCV v4: Image analysis software for high-throughput plant phenotyping →

PlantCV is an open-source Python project aimed at developing tools to address a range of image-based, plant phenotyping questions. PlantCV has been used for more than 10 years to automate trait collection from image data, and the newest release, PlantCV version 4, continues to lower the barrier to entry for users without substantial coding experience through extensive example use-case tutorials and simplified installation. In addition to usability, we document added functionality since the release of PlantCV v2, including support for more image types such as fluorescence, thermal, and hyperspectral data. Finally, we describe the development of a new subpackage focused on morphological trait measurements like leaf angle, and demonstrate its utility as compared to more manual methods of data collection.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物フェノタイピング用の画像解析ソフトウェア開発と、形態形質測定機能の実証が中心である。

abstractPlantCV is an open-source Python project aimed at developing tools to address a range of image-based, plant phenotyping questions.

Transformer-based Reconstruction of Canopy Profiles from Large-Footprint Waveform LiDAR →

Spaceborne laser scanning (SLS) presents a cost-effective means for frequent, global-scale monitoring of forest ecosystem parameters. Compared to airborne laser scanning (ALS), SLS offers substantially greater spatial coverage and revisit frequency, but at the cost of larger footprints, sparser sampling, and attenuated return signals. These constraints typically result in a loss of fine-scale vertical canopy structure in large-footprint waveform LiDAR, thereby limiting the retrieval of ecologically meaningful forest structural metrics. To address this challenge, we developed an encoder–decoder Transformer architecture to reconstruct high-resolution vertical canopy profiles from large-footprint waveform LiDAR observations. Using waveform data acquired by NASA’s Land, Vegetation, and Ice Sensor (LVIS) – a high-altitude ALS instrument commonly used as a proxy for spaceborne missions – we trained the model to recover fine-scale canopy structure by leveraging overlapping ALS point clouds as reference data. The proposed Transformer leverages long-range vertical dependencies within waveform signals to infer canopy structural details that are degraded or unresolved in large-footprint, high-altitude observations. Results show that the proposed approach substantially improves the agreement between LVIS-derived and ALS-derived canopy structural complexity metrics, increasing correlations from R = 0.62 to 0.84 and from R = 0.76 to 0.90 for two representative metrics. This framework is readily transferable to current and future SLS missions, enabling the retrieval of super-resolved vertical canopy profiles and supporting large-area assessment of ecologically meaningful canopy structural metrics.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsLiDAR波形から植物キャノピーの垂直構造プロファイルを再構成するTransformer手法の開発と検証が研究の中心であり、植物構造形質を推定している。

abstractwe developed an encoder–decoder Transformer architecture to reconstruct high-resolution vertical canopy profiles from large-footprint waveform LiDAR observations.

Apical3DTip: Elliptic Cross-section-based Reconstruction for the Embryo Initial Cell of Arabidopsis →

Background Cell geometry plays a central role in determining division orientation and body axis formation during early embryogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana . However, quantitative analysis of dynamic three-dimensional (3D) morphology remains challenging because live-imaging studies often rely on two-dimensional (2D) projections, while existing 3D reconstruction approaches, including mesh-based methods, often lose the original orientation information relative to the ovule and require labor-intensive mesh correction. In addition, embryo positional fluctuation caused by floating in liquid medium and continuous growth makes it difficult to analyze temporal morphological changes within a common coordinate system. Results We developed a robust framework for quantitative 3D and four-dimensional (4D; 3D + time) analysis of embryo initial cell (apical cell) morphology. The method first establishes a standardized 3D coordinate system by normalizing cell orientation based on the bottom plane and the optical axis of the observation. Cell morphology is then reconstructed through ellipse-based approximation of serial cross-sections extracted from stacked imaging data, enabling accurate geometric characterization without the need for complex surface mesh reconstruction. To evaluate shape anisotropy, we quantified the apical cell shape in 3D. The framework further supports the characterization of volumetric features of subsequent division, providing a basis for quantifying 3D embryogenesis. Conclusion Our framework provides a simple and noise-reduced approach for quantitative analysis of living cell morphology in 3D. We named the integrated method of combining coordinate normalization with elliptical cross-section-based reconstruction Apical3DTip. This method enables consistent comparison of cell shapes without extensive manual corrections. The method overcomes key limitations of 2D projection-based and mesh-dependent analyses and offers a practical platform for quantifying cell shape and daughter cell shapes in 3D. More broadly, it provides a quantitative foundation for exploring the relationship between cell geometry, morphodynamics, and developmental patterning in living plant embryos.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物胚の細胞形態を3D・4D画像から定量化する再構成手法を開発しており、表現型取得・抽出法が研究の中心である。

abstractWe developed a robust framework for quantitative 3D and four-dimensional (4D; 3D + time) analysis of embryo initial cell (apical cell) morphology.

A-Occ-Plant: Plant occluded point cloud completion via amodal segmentation →

Plants are geometrically and topologically complex objects, and methods and devices that produce plant point clouds often miss parts due to self occlusions, making further analysis, such as phenotypic trait extraction or 3D reconstruction, difficult. We introduce A-Occ-Plant , a novel method for point cloud completion. The first novelty of our algorithm is converting point clouds into a set of images, which are then completed using 2D amodal segmentation. The images are then converted into a complete point cloud by using view-consistent Gaussian splats. The second novelty is the use of a coarse-to-fine hierarchical Transformer with cross-scale attention. The completed soft masks are fused into a continuous 3D density field using Gaussian splatting, removing the need for external pose estimation or fixed-size inputs. We introduce a synthetic dataset using a procedural model and a real-world plant reconstruction benchmark with artificially generated occlusions. We further benchmark A-Occ-Plant against representative 3D point-cloud completion methods, demonstrate that it recovers downstream phenotypic traits (leaf count, leaf angle, plant height), and show that it generalizes to another crops (soybean). A-Occ-Plant achieves a 264.8% improvement in LPIPS and an 8.3% gain in SSIM compared to the current state of the art, while using only 2.3% of the parameters and running 39.4× faster. We release our code at https://github.com/JaeLee18/PlantPhenomics_Occlusion.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物の遮蔽点群を補完し、葉数・葉角度・草丈という表現型形質を復元する手法を開発しており、データセット作成とベンチマーク検証も中心的に行っている。

abstractWe introduce A-Occ-Plant , a novel method for point cloud completion.

LeafScans-Orchard: A Multi-Year Open RGB Scan Dataset of Orchard Plant Leaves for Species and Cultivar Classification →

LeafScans-Orchard is a curated, multi-year RGB image dataset of orchard plant leaves designed to support research in computer vision, machine learning, and plant phenotyping. The dataset comprises 9708 high-quality leaf scans acquired during collection campaigns conducted between 2015 and 2025, covering seven orchard crop species: apple, pear, sweet cherry, sour cherry, plum, peach, and apricot. In total, the dataset includes 67 cultivar labels. All samples were acquired using flatbed scanning under controlled conditions on a uniform background, ensuring high visual consistency and minimal background variability. The original scans were captured at 1200 dpi and subsequently converted into a public release format at 300 dpi, stored as lossless TIFF images to preserve morphological and textural details. Each image corresponds to a single leaf and is organized in a hierarchical directory structure by species, cultivar, and acquisition year, accompanied by image-level metadata and aggregated species–cultivar–year counts. LeafScans-Orchard is suitable for plant species classification, cultivar recognition, leaf morphology analysis, texture analysis, and general visual feature extraction. In addition to the main release, a representative subset of 300 original 1200 dpi scans is provided to support high-resolution analyses. The dataset is particularly suited for fine-grained classification, morphology-driven analysis, and methodological studies under controlled imaging conditions.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods果樹葉のRGBスキャン画像を収録した公開データセットで、植物フェノタイピングおよび葉形態解析を目的とする。標準化された画像取得と再利用可能なデータ構成が中心であり、フェノタイピング用データセットとして適格。

abstractLeafScans-Orchard is a curated, multi-year RGB image dataset of orchard plant leaves designed to support research in computer vision, machine learning, and plant phenotyping.

Dynamic sparse point voxel transformer for 3D point cloud instance segmentation of dormant apple trees. →

Three dimensional (3D) instance segmentation is essential for precision characterization of tree architecture at the branch level, which supports both tree fruit crop breeding and the development of robotic systems for orchard management. Existing methods usually use sparse convolution-based operation, which requires a coordinate quantization preprocess to generate sparse tensors, risking the loss of geometric details for fine-grained downstream phenotyping tasks. To overcome this challenge, we developed the dynamic sparse point-voxel transformer (DSPVFormer) model for the efficient and accurate 3D instance segmentation of high-resolution point clouds for dormant apple trees. Our hybrid DSPVFormer architecture maximizes the use of raw point features by dynamically mapping and aggregating the raw point features into the sparse voxel embeddings, capturing strong geometric features that may be discarded during quantization. Evaluations demonstrate that DSPVFormer achieved statistically significant improvements over baseline models on most instance segmentation metrics, which are further translated into more accurate phenotyping evaluation including branch counting and pruning map generation. These advances directly benefit downstream applications in plant phenotyping and robotic pruning for tree crops such as apples. Meanwhile, experimental results on phenotyping tasks suggested that phenotyping-specific evaluation metrics should be prioritized over upstream computer vision performance metrics to realize the full potential of high-throughput phenotyping for real-world applications.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsリンゴ樹の3D点群から枝レベル形質を抽出するセグメンテーション手法を開発・評価し、枝数や剪定マップへの応用まで検証しており、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractwe developed the dynamic sparse point-voxel transformer (DSPVFormer) model for the efficient and accurate 3D instance segmentation of high-resolution point clouds for dormant apple trees.

Quantifying wheat spike morphology by high resolution 3D surface scanning →

An understanding of spike shape will be of great benefit for improving wheat yields. Traditional manual measurements of spike traits are slow and prone to human error, preventing large-scale phenotyping. Employing imaging techniques will allow researchers to measure multiple morphometric parameters simultaneously. While 2D imaging provides a rapid screening method, 3D imaging offer a more comprehensive understanding of spike shape, revealing complex external structures. This study addresses the challenge of developing a high-resolution 3D surface-scanning pipeline to accurately quantify wheat spike morphology across diverse genotypes. Using a 3D surface-scanner, sharp point clouds of individual spikes were reconstructed and automatically aligned and analysed to extract key morphological features including spike length, volume, and cross-sectional area profile. New shape descriptors based on cross-sectional area profiles, local extremes, statistical curve fitting, segmentation of spikes into zones of aborted spikelets, base and apical segments as well as the extraction of spike/spikelets branching and endpoints of components were introduced to capture detailed structural variation between genotypes. Correlations between the 3D-derived traits and traditional metrics such as spike weight, spikelet number and seed weight confirmed the biological relevance of the extracted parameters. The method distinguished morphological differences among twelve wheat genotypes, revealing distinct shape types such as long, short, compact, and awned spikes. By combining precise 3D imaging with computational analysis, this approach provides a non-destructive framework for spike phenotyping. These findings demonstrate that 3D surface-scanning can deliver accurate and reproducible measurements of wheat spike architecture, offering new opportunities for linking morphology with genetics and yield potential in modern breeding programs.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods小麦穂の形態を3D画像取得と計算解析で定量化するパイプラインを開発し、形状記述子の抽出と遺伝子型間での検証を行う、植物フェノタイピング手法の中心的研究である。

abstractThis study addresses the challenge of developing a high-resolution 3D surface-scanning pipeline to accurately quantify wheat spike morphology across diverse genotypes.

PhenoRob-P: An autonomous robotic system for high-throughput phenotyping of potted plants →

High-throughput phenotyping is essential for resolving genotype-by-environment interactions and accelerating crop breeding. In greenhouse potted-plant systems, narrow aisles, global navigation satellite system (GNSS)-denied operation, variable pot layouts, and plant-level data traceability constrain repeatable automated phenotyping. This study presents PhenoRob-P, a modular autonomous robotic system designed for potted crops in structured facility environments. The system integrates a compact two-wheel differential chassis, a LiDAR–vision fusion framework for row-level navigation, pot-level target identification and local alignment, a six-degree-of-freedom robotic arm with inverse-kinematics-based real-time pose compensation for repeatable multi-view close-range imaging, and a three-tier User–Cloud–Robot platform for task scheduling, remote monitoring, and closed-loop data management. Greenhouse validation showed throughputs of 520 pots/h in continuous scanning mode and 187 pots/h in multi-view fine inspection mode. At travel speeds of 0.2–0.3 m/s, mean terminal positioning errors remained within 30 mm, and approximately 87% of lateral and longitudinal errors fell within ±30 mm. Biological validation demonstrated time-resolved stress phenotyping in wheat, with color indices capturing drought progression and rewatering recovery. For maize, multi-view three-dimensional reconstruction estimated plant height and stem diameter with R 2 values of 0.940 and 0.845, respectively, relative to manual measurements. These results show that PhenoRob-P provides an integrated perception-localization-acquisition-analysis workflow for high-throughput, traceable, and time-resolved phenotyping of potted crops.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物形質の取得を中核とする自律ロボット型ハイスループット表現型解析プラットフォームを開発・検証しており、画像取得、3D再構成、ストレス・形態形質の推定性能も評価している。

abstractThis study presents PhenoRob-P, a modular autonomous robotic system designed for potted crops in structured facility environments.

PhytoScan3D: an open-source Python pipeline for batch extraction of phenotypic traits from 3D point cloud files generated by multispectral plant phenotyping sensors →

Abstract High-throughput 3D multispectral plant phenotyping platforms generate large volumes of point cloud files, but trait extraction is typically performed by sensor-bundled software whose internal algorithms are not publicly documented, which limits reproducibility and integration into custom research pipelines. Here we present PhytoScan3D, an open-source Python pipeline that extracts morphological and spectral phenotypic traits, spanning plant height, 3D leaf area, digital biomass, convex hull volume, leaf inclination, canopy geometry, NDVI, hue, and vegetation indices, from both PLY and PCD point cloud files generated by Phenospex PlantEye F500 and F600 sensors, and is portable to point clouds from any acquisition platform. PhytoScan3D was validated against HortControl (PhenoSpex) ground-truth measurements on 936 barley ( Hordeum vulgare ) pot-date observations from the growth chamber trial (20 Norwegian cultivars, 12 scan dates, Septemenr 2025 to January 2026), achieving Pearson r = 0.913 to 0.999 and ratio approximately 1.000 for Plant Height Max, 3D Leaf Area, and NDVI Average. A vectorised mesh face filtering implementation achieved a 120x speed improvement, increasing valid 3D Leaf Area coverage from 0.6% to 100% of files. Cross-format validation on 223 PlantEye F600 PCD files from the ICRISAT LeasyScan platform (four legume species: mungbean, cowpea, lima bean, and common bean; 1,523 plant observations) yielded r = 0.884 against independent cuboid annotation heights. The systematic positive bias (mean +27.2 mm, ratio = 1.44) is attributable to PhytoScan3D computing height from raw point cloud Z-range while cuboid annotations are fitted to segmented plant points only, with the offset consistent across all four species (per-species r = 0.880 to 0.888). Cross-dataset processing of 1,180 PLY files from the Crops3D benchmark (8 species, 3 acquisition methods) confirmed zero extraction errors. PhytoScan3D is available at “github.com/kovimallik/phytoscan3d” under the MIT licence and processes 1,651 files across three independent datasets in under 12 minutes on GPU hardware. Highlights PhytoScan3D is the first open-source Python pipeline for batch extraction of phenotypic traits, including plant height, 3D leaf area, digital biomass, convex hull volume, leaf inclination, NDVI, and excess green index, from both PLY and PCD point cloud files generated by Phenospex PlantEye sensors. Primary validation against HortControl ground-truth measurements on 936 barley pot-date observations achieved Pearson r = 0.913-0.999 for Plant Height Max, 3D Leaf Area, and NDVI Average. A 120x computational speedup in mesh face filtering (vectorised NumPy vs. set-based loop) increased the coverage of valid 3D Leaf Area extraction from 0.6% to 100% of files. Cross-format validation on 223 PlantEye F600 PCD files from ICRISAT LeasyScan (four legume species, 1,523 plants) achieved r = 0.884 against independent cuboid annotation heights. The systematic +27.2 mm bias reflects a methodological difference (raw Z-range vs. soil-segmented annotations), is consistent and predictable across all four species (per-species r = 0.880-0.888), and is correctable by a single linear factor. Cross-dataset processing of 1,180 PLY files from the Crops3D benchmark (8 species, 3 acquisition methods) confirmed zero extraction errors. Significant scan-unit variation was detected for Plant Height Max (F = 5.71, p < 0.001, η 2 = 0.138) and Canopy Width X (F = 6.32, p < 0.001, η 2 = 0.150), demonstrating the biological utility of extracted traits.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物の3D点群・マルチスペクトルデータから形態・スペクトル形質を抽出するオープンソース手法を開発し、複数データセットで技術検証・ベンチマークしているため、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractHere we present PhytoScan3D, an open-source Python pipeline that extracts morphological and spectral phenotypic traits

Accurate 3D recording: Integrating ground-based LiDAR data and 3D segmentation network to extract 3D traits and analyze genetics in wheat populations →

This study suggests a novel extraction pipeline based on terrestrial laser scanning across multiple growth stages to address the current deficiency of three-dimensional (3D) phenotypic traits for wheat populations derived from 3D point clouds. This study presents 3D Wheat Point-seg Net (3D WP-seg Net), a novel 3D point cloud segmentation network that incorporates an SA-CrossAttention module to address the difficulties presented by complex structures, background noise, non-uniform point distributions, and scale variations in plot-level wheat point cloud data. Plot height, canopy area, and volume are examples of common phenotypic parameters that are successfully extracted using this technique. Additionally, two new phenotypic parameters: plot extension distance and lodging angle are suggested by fusing the centroid and slice-skeletonization algorithms. A software platform called 3D Trait Analysis was created to facilitate multi-sensor 3D data processing and trait extraction. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was then conducted using the extracted population-level traits to find potential genes linked to these new phenotypes. While the segmentation accuracies of 3D WP-seg Net achieved 93.1%, 88.3%, and 92.5% under various sensor systems, the results showed a strong correlation between the predicted and measured plot heights (R 2 = 0.954). Furthermore, four candidate genes linked to extension distance were found on chromosomes 1A, 2A, and 4A, and five putative genes controlling plot lodging angle were found on chromosomes 2D, 3A, and 7A. The multi-stage 3D phenotyping and analysis framework for wheat populations established by this study improves the accuracy of point cloud segmentation and trait quantification while offering a new and efficient method for the genetic analysis of important population-level traits.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsLiDAR点群の分割、3D形質抽出、検証、ソフトウェア基盤の開発が研究の中心であり、コムギの形態・倒伏関連形質を定量化しているため。

abstractThis study presents 3D Wheat Point-seg Net (3D WP-seg Net), a novel 3D point cloud segmentation network

TomatoPGT: A 3D point cloud dataset of tomato plants for segmentation and plant-trait extraction. →

Three-dimensional (3D) point-cloud phenotyping enables non-destructive and repeatable characterization of plant architecture, supporting the measurement of traits such as internode length, branching topology, and organ orientation. This article presents TomatoPGT (Tomato Plant Graph Twin) , a 3D tomato dataset designed for research on semantic/instance segmentation, graph-based structural representation, and graph-derived phenotypic trait extraction. The dataset contains 42 scans from three greenhouse-grown tomato plants acquired across early to mid-vegetative development using a rotational multi-view imaging system. Each scan consists of 60-70 overlapping RGB images captured under uniform illumination and reconstructed into a metrically scaled dense colored point cloud using Structure-from-Motion and multi-view stereo. TomatoPGT provides: (i) multi-view RGB images, (ii) dense colored point clouds, (iii) manually curated semantic and instance annotations at organ level, (iv) graph representations encoding plant topology and geometry, and (v) tabulated phenotypic traits computed deterministically from the graphs (internode length, insertion angles, and phyllotactic angles). TomatoPGT supports reproducible development and evaluation of 3D phenotyping pipelines, including learning-based segmentation and graph-based modeling of plant architecture.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物の3D形態表現型抽出を目的としたデータセットで、画像・点群・器官アノテーション・グラフ・形質値を提供し、再現可能なフェノタイピング手法の開発と評価を直接支援している。

abstractThis article presents TomatoPGT (Tomato Plant Graph Twin) , a 3D tomato dataset designed for research on semantic/instance segmentation, graph-based structural representation, and graph-derived phenotypic trait extraction.

Remote sensing data and machine learning models estimate sorghum grain yield in a plant breeding program →

P henotyping remains a critical bottleneck in sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) breeding programs, limiting rates of genetic gain due to labor-intensive yield estimation methods. To address this concern, this study investigates the potential of integrating remote sensing data with machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) models to improve sorghum grain yield predictions. Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)-based imagery was collected across multiple field trials, extracting standard vegetation indices, canopy height features, and panicle traits using a YOLOv11-based object detection model, "YOLO-SORG." Six ML models-including ridge regression (RR), elastic net (EN), LASSO regression (LR), support vector regression (SVR), random forest (RF), and XGBoost (XGB)-were trained to predict plot-level yield using three distinct feature sets: panicle traits, canopy traits, and a combination of both. Results indicate that models relying solely or partially on canopy-derived features provided the most consistent and accurate yield estimates (R 2 ≈ 0.74-0.76), whereas models relying solely on panicle traits performed poorly (R 2 ≈ 0.28-0.42), indicating nadir-derived panicle metrics were potentially being indirectly captured with the canopy traits. Traditional regression models outperformed tree-based ensemble methods in variance partitioning and repeatability ( R ≈ 0.59-0.60), making them more suitable for many breeding applications. These findings highlight the promise of UAS-driven ML pipelines for non-destructive yield prediction but underscore potential limitations of nadir imagery for capturing panicle morphology and use in a robust yield prediction model. Future research should explore the inclusion of multi-temporal imaging, refined feature extraction approaches, and use of oblique, non-nadir imagery to enhance predictive accuracy in sorghum breeding programs.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsUAS画像からキャノピー高、穂形質、植生指数を抽出し、機械学習でソルガムのプロット収量を推定するパイプラインが研究の中心であり、形質取得・推定手法の評価も行っている。

abstractthis study investigates the potential of integrating remote sensing data with machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) models to improve sorghum grain yield predictions.

Hyperspectral imaging of Marchantia →

Hyperspectral imaging is an imaging technique that allows for acquisition of high-resolution spectral information beyond that of the visible spectrum. When applied to plants, it effectively enables non-invasive characterization of physiological status and has been widely used in agricultural settings. Marchantia is a model bryophyte species whose flat morphology and visually distinct stress-response phenotypes makes it an ideal candidate for imaging studies. Here, we provide a comprehensive protocol for hyperspectral imaging for Marchantia plants, which encompasses hardware configuration, data acquisition, and computations processing. This protocol features a streamlined data processing pipeline hosted on a web-based development platform that automates 1) the segmentation of plant area into spatially distinct regions for localized analysis of intra-specimen physiological gradients, and 2) classification of plant pixels based on their spectral signatures. All results are exported as structured CSV files for ease of further analysis as desired by the user.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsマーチャンティアを対象としたハイパースペクトル撮像プロトコルと、植物領域のセグメンテーション・スペクトル分類を含む処理パイプラインを開発しており、植物の生理状態取得が中心的な方法論的貢献である。

abstractHere, we provide a comprehensive protocol for hyperspectral imaging for Marchantia plants, which encompasses hardware configuration, data acquisition, and computations processing.

Size–curvature constraint in the closing motion of Venus flytrap leaves →

Among carnivorous plants, the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is known for its rapid (<1 s) trap closure. Although buckling instability, hydrostatic pressure, and hydroelastic coupling have all been proposed to be involved, the nature of this process and the relationship between trap size and curvature remain elusive. Here, we monitored the closure of Venus flytraps and performed micro-CT scanning and 3D reconstruction, revealing that increasing angular velocity was correlated with higher values of a non-dimensional shape index. Based on these experimental data, we constructed a geometric model of the trap that takes leaf orientation into account. We found that leaf curvature is dependent on leaf size, a relationship we denote as a size-curvature constraint. We further propose a curvature design derived from differential deformations of a two-layer model of the leaf, which could be a powerful tool to control the curvatures of soft and bending surface structures in the field of biomimetics.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsマイクロCTと3D再構成で葉の閉鎖運動・曲率を定量化し、幾何モデルでサイズ–曲率関係を推定することが研究の中心であり、植物形態・運動状態のフェノタイピング手法に該当する。

abstractHere, we monitored the closure of Venus flytraps and performed micro-CT scanning and 3D reconstruction, revealing that increasing angular velocity was correlated with higher values of a non-dimensional shape index.

Rapid modeling of 3D rice canopy structure considering vertical heterogeneity and analysis of spectral response →

The vertical heterogeneity of rice canopy structure limits the accuracy of inverting leaf physicochemical parameters using traditional radiative transfer models, while LiDAR-based 3D reconstruction remains costly for large-scale applications. To address these challenges, this study proposes a method for constructing 3D rice canopy scenes using "Precision Mode" and "Rapid Mode" strategies. The Precision Mode builds detailed structural models based on measured morphological parameters, validated via the LESS 3D radiative transfer model. To overcome the limitations of obtaining detailed morphology via UAV remote sensing, the Rapid Mode employs machine learning algorithms-specifically Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF), and XGBoost-to map easily accessible parameters (LAI, Above-ground Biomass, Plant Height, and Transplanting Date) to detailed 3D structural parameters. Results indicate that XGBoost achieves the highest accuracy in the Rapid Mode. Furthermore, simulated spectra under both modes showed high consistency with measured spectra, yielding average RMSE values of 0.0104 (R 2 = 0.9965) for the Precision Mode and 0.0307 (R 2 = 0.9694) for the Rapid Mode. Although the spectral accuracy of the Rapid Mode is slightly lower, its modeling efficiency is significantly enhanced, retaining a strong capability to reproduce spectral response characteristics across growth stages. This approach provides an effective tool for analyzing vertical spectral response mechanisms and offers an efficient data simulation scheme for UAV remote sensing parameter inversion based on 3D radiative transfer models.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsイネ群落の3D構造を構築・推定する手法を開発し、放射伝達モデルと実測スペクトルで検証しており、植物形質の取得・再現が研究の中心です。

abstractthis study proposes a method for constructing 3D rice canopy scenes using "Precision Mode" and "Rapid Mode" strategies.

A vision language model for generating XML-based organ-level plant architecture representations of cowpea from simulated images →

Three-dimensional (3D) procedural plant architecture models have emerged as an important tool for simulation-based studies of plant structure and function, extracting plant architectural parameters from field measurements, and for generating realistic plants in computer graphics. However, measuring the architectural parameters for these models at the field and population scales remains prohibitively labor-intensive. We present a novel algorithm that generates the 3D plant architecture from an image, to create a functional structural plant model from an image that reflects organ-level geometric and topological parameters, providing a more comprehensive representation of the plant’s architecture. Instead of using 3D sensors or processing multi-view images with computer vision to obtain the 3D structure of plants, we propose a method that generates token sequences containing a procedural definition of the plant architecture. This work uses only synthetic images for training and testing, where “exact” architectural parameters were known, which allowed for testing of the hypothesis that organ-level architectural parameters could be extracted from imagery data using a vision language model (VLM). A synthetic dataset of cowpea plant images was generated using the Helios 3D plant simulator, with the detailed plant architecture encoded in XML files. We developed a plant architecture tokenizer for the XML file defining plant architecture, converting it into a token sequence that a language model can predict. Then, a VLM was trained to predict plant architecture token sequences from images. Our results demonstrate that the model can predict plant architecture tokens with an F1 score of 0.73 in a teacher-forcing method. Evaluation of the model was performed through autoregressive generation, achieving a BLEU-4 score of 94.00% and a ROUGE-L score of 0.5182. Our model achieves lower MAPE than feature regression-based methods in estimating bulk plant-level traits that require understanding of the occluded 3D structure of the plant, such as leaf count and leaf area. We conclude that generating plant architecture and parameter extraction from synthetic imagery are feasible using a VLM approach, supporting future extension to real imagery.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods画像から器官レベルの植物構造と形態形質を抽出するVLM手法の開発・評価が中心であり、植物フェノタイピング手法に該当する。

abstractWe present a novel algorithm that generates the 3D plant architecture from an image, to create a functional structural plant model from an image that reflects organ-level geometric and topological parameters

Deep learning-based 3D morphological segmentation and quantitative growth analysis of field-grown cabbage across the full cycle. →

Monitoring the growth dynamics in field-grown cabbage is critically important for ensuring stable vegetable production and advancing precision agricultural management. However, conventional two-dimensional (2D) image-based monitoring approaches are limited to planar projection information and lack representations of spatial structural characteristics, rendering them inadequate for supporting high-precision, full-cycle phenotypic monitoring of cabbage under open-field conditions. In this study, a high-precision three-dimensional (3D) point cloud dataset covering the period from the seedling stage to maturity was constructed using depth cameras in conjunction with multi-view spatial registration techniques. Building on this dataset, an adaptive point cloud segmentation network designed for the whole-cycle growth monitoring was proposed, incorporating a Head Refinement Module (HRM), a Leaf Instance Segmentation Module (LISM), and Cross Module Interaction (CMI) to address leaf adhesion and head boundary delineation. Experimental results demonstrated that the proposed method consistently outperformed state-of-the-art models in both semantic and instance segmentation tasks. For semantic segmentation, the mean Intersection over Union (mIoU) reached 0.767, with a point classification accuracy of 94.8%. The model comprises 54.25 million parameters and achieves an average response time of 0.76 s. For instance segmentation, the Average Precision (AP) improved by 2.3% for cabbage heads and 3.8% for leaves, while the Average Recall (AR) increased by 6.9%. Growth parameters, including plant height and canopy spread, extracted from the segmentation results showed strong agreement with ground-truth measurements, with correlation of coefficients (R 2 ) exceeding 0.9 for plant height, canopy length, and canopy width. Leveraging these multidimensional phenotypic descriptors, the temporal dynamics of cabbage growth throughout the entire growth cycle were systematically characterized. Overall, this study enables dynamic monitoring of cabbage phenotypes across the full growth cycle, providing a novel technical pathway for extending 3D phenotyping from controlled environments to open-field applications and offering important support for precise crop monitoring and the development of digital twin agriculture.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3D点群データセット、セグメンテーションネットワーク、形質抽出を開発・検証し、圃場キャベツの草高や冠幅を定量化する植物フェノタイピング手法が研究の中心である。

abstracta high-precision three-dimensional (3D) point cloud dataset covering the period from the seedling stage to maturity was constructed using depth cameras in conjunction with multi-view spatial registration techniques.

Spatio-temporal 4D phenotyping for automated morphological genotype differentiation of sugar beet →

Abstract 3D models are used in plant phenotyping for non-destructive quantification and analysis of morphological characteristics. Analyzing plant structure allows breeders to select for desirable traits, associated with e.g. drought tolerance or increased productivity. In sugar beet, morphological parameters depict an essential element of the variety approval for distinguishing between genotypes. However, only a limited number of measured or scored parameters are considered at a single time point. In contrast, 4D data adds a temporal component and can depict the dynamic development of 3D parameters. To explore the potential of spatio-temporal 4D phenotyping for automated crop genotype differentiation, a greenhouse experiment was conducted by us covering twelve sugar beet genotypes. High-resolution 3D models were generated twice a week over the course of two months and both common and novel 3D morphological parameters were extracted. The importance of these parameters was assessed by us, and the dataset was analyzed using unsupervised pointwise clustering and time series clustering. Varying importance of parameters depending on the time point and significantly higher importance of plant parameters compared to leaf parameters are demonstrated by our results. Moreover, increased and more stable genotype differentiation is archived using time series clustering compared to pointwise clustering. Furthermore, taproot formation of sugar beet was found to have a crucial impact on morphological development. Substantial variations in the dynamic development of 3D morphological parameters underline the importance of 4D data for plant genotype differentiation. Thus, a novel foundation for genotype differentiation in plant phenotyping is provided by our findings.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3Dモデルから植物形態形質を抽出し、時系列クラスタリングで遺伝型識別を評価する4Dフェノタイピング手法が研究の中心である。

titleSpatio-temporal 4D phenotyping for automated morphological genotype differentiation of sugar beet

MSDDG: Multi-scale dual-discriminator GAN for point cloud completion of plant →

Plant 3D reconstruction using optical imaging often suffers from incomplete point clouds due to viewpoint occlusion and sensor limitations. This incompleteness hinders accurate structural representation and subsequent feature extraction for plant analysis. To address these challenges, we propose a Multi-Scale Dual-Discriminator Generative Adversarial Network (MSDDG) for plant point cloud completion. A multi-scale point cloud generator (MSPG) that integrates local and global features from raw incomplete point clouds is used for MSDDG to reconstruct complete shapes. The dual-discriminators-a multi-view projected silhouette discriminator and a spatial distance discriminator-are designed to ensure geometric realism and spatial plausibility from multiple perspectives. To train MSDDG, we created the Plant4L dataset containing four plant species (sunflower, pumpkin, luffa, and eggplant) with high-quality 3D models augmented via 3D thin plate spline transformations and virtual occlusion simulation to generate incomplete point clouds and multi-view silhouettes. Experimental results on Plant4L demonstrate that MSDDG achieves superior completion performance, with Chamfer Distance (CD), Hausdorff Distance (HD), and Uniformity Chamfer Distance (UCD) all below 0.41. Comparative evaluations confirm MSDDG's superiority over previous point cloud completion methods. The application of MSDDG for 3D reconstruction from single view further validate its effectiveness in restoring occluded plant structures.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物の不完全点群を補完して3D構造を再構成する手法を開発し、植物データセット上で比較評価・検証しており、表現型取得ワークフローが中心です。

abstractwe propose a Multi-Scale Dual-Discriminator Generative Adversarial Network (MSDDG) for plant point cloud completion.

Mixed-scale multivariate analysis reveals phenotypic structure in wood apple (Feronia limonia L.). →

Wood apple (Feronia limonia L.) is an underutilized perennial fruit tree with substantial ecological, nutritional, and economic potential, yet its phenotypic diversity and trait organization remain poorly characterized. Here, we applied a mixed-scale multivariate framework to resolve phenotypic structure in 62 wood apple genotypes using 31 ordinal and categorical vegetative, leaf, floral, fruit, and seed descriptors. Trait interrelationships were examined through the complementary use of Spearman’s rank correlation and Cramér’s V association analyses, capturing both directional rank-based dependencies and scale-independent categorical linkages. Hierarchical clustering based on Gower distance separated the genotypes into three distinct phenotypic clusters, with inter-cluster dissimilarities (0.92–1.18) consistently exceeding intra-cluster variation (0.42–0.55), indicating well-supported phenotypic stratification based on cluster validation. Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) explained 23.30% of total inertia across the first two dimensions, with tree growth habit, branch angle, tree shape, and fruit color emerging as the principal drivers of phenotypic differentiation. Vegetative and leaf traits formed a tightly integrated module, whereas fruit-related traits displayed weaker monotonic but persistent categorical associations, reflecting partial phenotypic independence. The strong concordance among association analyses, clustering, and MCA indicates structured patterns of coordinated and partially independent trait associations in wood apple. Overall, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of mixed-scale multivariate approaches for resolving complex trait architecture in underutilized perennial fruit crops and provides a quantitative phenotypic framework to support germplasm conservation, parent selection, and ideotype-oriented improvement of wood apple.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods混合尺度の多変量解析を用いて植物遺伝資源の表現型構造を定量化する手法が研究の中心であり、単なる生物学的実験の routine 測定ではない。

abstractHere, we applied a mixed-scale multivariate framework to resolve phenotypic structure in 62 wood apple genotypes using 31 ordinal and categorical vegetative, leaf, floral, fruit, and seed descriptors.

Robust estimation of rice flag leaf inclination angle from SfM-MVS point clouds via ensemble skeleton extraction: validation in field and pot experiments →

BACKGROUND: Leaf inclination angle (LIA) is a key trait affecting crop canopy structure and photosynthetic efficiency, but its accurate measurement is challenging due to complex leaf geometry, especially in narrow, curved rice leaves. As the flag leaf serves as the primary photosynthetic organ in rice, the precise spatial parsing of its architecture is crucial for optimizing canopy light interception and yield potential. With the rapid development of high-throughput phenotyping technologies, an increasing number of studies have focused on the fine-grained characterization of 3D crop architecture. However, accurate methodologies for extracting the flag leaf inclination angle (FLIA) in rice, as well as systematic investigations into its spatiotemporal variation patterns, remain largely unexplored. RESULTS: In this study, we systematically evaluated multiple plane-fitting strategies based on SfM-MVS point clouds, finding that voxel-based piecewise analysis outperformed traditional global approaches. To further improve accuracy, skeleton extraction methods were innovatively extended to LIA estimation. A proposed multi-method ensemble, based on the median of eight skeleton extraction combinations, yielded high robustness (R2 = 0.923, RMSE = 2.072°) against photographic ground truth. By applying the proposed framework to both field- and pot-grown rice, we observed no significant FLIA differences between varieties or nitrogen treatments under field-grown conditions, likely due to phenotypic plasticity regulated by population effects. However, pot-grown plants, experiencing reduced interplant competition, exhibited significant varietal differences in FLIA. Across growth environments, varieties, and nitrogen treatments, FLIA at maturity was significantly lower than at anthesis and grain filling stages due to leaf senescence. CONCLUSIONS: This study establishes a robust and accurate measurement framework for LIA based on 3D point clouds, improving estimation performance through piecewise analysis, voxelization, and ensemble strategies. The proposed approach is demonstrated to be an effective tool for the precise quantification of rice leaf phenotypes.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsSfM-MVS点群からイネ葉の傾斜角を抽出する手法を開発・検証し、圃場および鉢植えで適用しているため、植物フェノタイピング手法が研究の中心である。

abstractA proposed multi-method ensemble, based on the median of eight skeleton extraction combinations, yielded high robustness (R2 = 0.923, RMSE = 2.072°) against photographic ground truth.

From 3DGS scenes to plant traits: a scalable extraction and segmentation framework for muskmelon phenotyping →

Automated quantification of plant-level development from multi-plant greenhouse scenes requires separating individual plants from shared scene-level reconstructions and quantifying organ-level development, a challenge that single-plant acquisition workflows do not directly address. This study presents an end-to-end phenotyping pipeline built on 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) and a post-reconstruction extraction framework, LCR-GS, designed to isolate plant instances from full greenhouse scenes without scene-specific model retraining. LCR-GS integrates zero-shot 2D cues with multi-view lifting, geometric clustering, and chromatic refinement to convert large scene-level reconstructions (~2M Gaussians) into compact per-plant subsets (~16K Gaussians). Experiments on greenhouse-grown muskmelon at the early vegetative stage demonstrate high plant-extraction precision (0.933) and strong organ-level instance segmentation (mean AP50 = 0.924). Plant height and leaf count are validated against manual measurements (height R² = 0.98, RMSE = 1.88 cm; leaf count R² = 0.86), whereas additional morphological traits, including leaf area, leaf area index, mean internode length, and stem node count, are reported as pipeline-derived descriptors for within-cohort comparison. By decoupling semantic inference from reconstruction, the pipeline reduces scene-scale data by over 99% and provides a practical route to derive compact per-plant 3D representations from multi-plant greenhouse imagery for downstream organ-level analysis.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3DGS画像から個体・器官を抽出し、植物形質を定量化するフェノタイピング手法の開発と検証が中心である。

abstractThis study presents an end-to-end phenotyping pipeline built on 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) and a post-reconstruction extraction framework, LCR-GS, designed to isolate plant instances from full greenhouse scenes without scene-specific model retraining.

Herbarium-based measurements are reliable predictors of fresh plant traits in Neotropical Myrtaceae →

Premise: Herbarium specimens are increasingly used to extract morphological traits for ecological and evolutionary studies, yet the effects of tissue desiccation on trait measurements remain poorly understood. Here, we tested whether higher tissue water content leads to greater measurement changes after herborization (H1) and whether fresh trait values can be reliably predicted from herbarium measurements (H2). Methods: We evaluated the reliability of herbarium-based measurements by comparing fresh and dried traits of leaves, flowers, fleshy fruits, and seeds across 262 individuals representing 133 Neotropical Myrtaceae species. Phylogenetic least square models and machine-learning regressions were used to test H1 and H2. Results: Leaves and flowers generally shrank after herborization, fruits size metrics tended to increase, and seeds were largely unaffected. Water content was significantly associated with the magnitude of herborization effects in flowers and some leaf and seed traits. Fresh trait values were accurately predicted from herbarium measurements. Prediction errors were lowest for leaf traits, followed by fruits, flowers, and seeds. Discussion: These results partially support H1 and support H2, indicating that herbarium specimens can be reliably used for trait analyses when organ-specific responses are considered, providing a practical framework to account for potential desiccation bias in functional trait research.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsハーバリウム標本による植物形態形質測定の信頼性評価と、生鮮形質の予測手法が研究の中心であり、植物フェノタイピング手法の検証に該当する。

abstractWe evaluated the reliability of herbarium-based measurements by comparing fresh and dried traits of leaves, flowers, fleshy fruits, and seeds across 262 individuals representing 133 Neotropical Myrtaceae species.

Optical Caliper for Contactless Measurement of Plant Stem Diameter →

Precision greenhouse agriculture enhances plant health and crop yields by continuously monitoring key plant parameters. Stem diameter is such a parameter and is monitored to support decisions on plant care. However, traditional contact-based methods induce thigmomorphogenic effects that impact plant growth. Here, we introduce the Optical Caliper (OC), a novel contactless device for precise, non-invasive stem diameter measurement. The OC operates by projecting a collimated light beam to cast a shadow of the stem onto a high-resolution image sensor. The shadow size is a measure for the stem diameter. Controlled laboratory tests show the OC offers an accuracy comparable to that of a Digital Caliper (DC). Field trials on irregular tomato and cucumber stems demonstrate a repeatability of 0.1-0.2 mm. The OC's non-invasive design and high repeatability exceed the performance of a DC, making it particularly suited for accurately monitoring soft, variable plant structures. Bringing the advantage of avoiding thigmomophogenic effects and thus optimizing crop yield, the OC is a promising tool for high-throughput plant phenotyping and precision agriculture applications.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物の茎径を非接触・高精度に測定する光学デバイスを開発し、実験室および圃場で精度・再現性を検証しており、植物表現型取得法が研究の中心です。

abstractHere, we introduce the Optical Caliper (OC), a novel contactless device for precise, non-invasive stem diameter measurement.

Quantification of anatomical changes in young grapevine wood over time and in response to Neofusicoccum parvum with image processing →

Grapevine Trunk diseases (GTDs) represent a major threat for the wine industry. Despite several break-through, their etiology remains unclear and no curative treatment is currently available. Wood anatomy and water transport contribute to the symptoms of young plant decline. This study investigates wood anatomical alterations in two Alsatian grapevine cultivars presenting different susceptibility to GTDs, focusing on wood structure over six months of vegetative growth and in response to infection. Using a validated FasGa staining protocol, wood sections from transverse, tangential, and radial directions were stained to differentiate lignified and cellulosic tissues. Microscopic analysis was performed at x4, x10, and x40 magnifications, yielding a dataset of 4771 images. To support this high-throughput quantitative analysis of microscopy images, a computational model was developed, enabling reliable and efficient assessment of anatomical traits. Pre-established woody tissues presented higher xylem vessels diameter in Gewurztraminer than Riesling, with a dorsoventral arrangement whereas the number of vessels remained the same all over the cross section. No significant anatomical changes were observed in established woody tissues, whereas newly formed xylem anatomy showed a possible rearrangement during infection, especially in Gewurztraminer cultivar. Furthermore, colorimetric analysis quantified the lignification of woody tissues in response to wounding damage compared to un-treated plants. While definitive conclusions remain limited due to the experimental timeframe and sample variability, the findings highlight the need for longer-term studies and broader cultivar evaluation. Code and microscopy images have been made publicly available, providing a scalable digital tool for future research in plant vascular systems.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物組織画像から木部解剖形質と木化を定量する計算モデルを開発・検証し、大規模画像データセットと公開コードを提供しており、表現型取得手法が研究の中心である。

abstractTo support this high-throughput quantitative analysis of microscopy images, a computational model was developed, enabling reliable and efficient assessment of anatomical traits.

3D point cloud driven organ semantic segmentation to assess maize structural responses along the planting-density gradient →

High-density planting is an effective strategy to increase maize yield but imposes greater demands on plant architectural adaptability. To elucidate the structural response mechanisms of maize under varying planting densities, we developed a high-throughput 3D phenotyping system tailored to complex field conditions. High-precision point clouds of field-sampled plants were obtained via multi-view 3D reconstruction. Using a deep learning network, stem and leaf organs were semantically segmented (95.6% accuracy), while leaves were individually separated via clustering (94.8% accuracy). From these data, 31 plant architectural traits and 14 ear-leaf traits were extracted, establishing a hierarchical trait characterization system. Results showed that increased planting density significantly influenced plant architecture reshaping and structural coordination, leading to more compact plant forms and ear height position centralization. Ear leaves exhibited heightened sensitivity to density variation, particularly in leaf area, vertical distribution, and leaf inclination angle, suggesting an early-response role. Principal component analysis and clustering further revealed patterns of structural differentiation and key traits driving these changes under density treatments. The integrated workflow-comprising data acquisition, modeling, segmentation, clustering, trait extraction, and analysis-offers a robust approach for structural phenotyping and intelligent breeding selection in maize and other tall crops. This pipeline provides valuable technical support and data resources for optimizing dense planting strategies and advancing digital agriculture.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods高スループット3D表現型システムを開発し、点群再構成・器官分割・クラスタリングから多数の植物構造形質を抽出することが中心であるため。

abstractwe developed a high-throughput 3D phenotyping system tailored to complex field conditions

Manifold-based learning for high-throughput single-peanut phenotyping. →

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), a major legume crop valued for its high oil content, displays complex genotypic-phenotypic interactions shaped by environmental influences, yet these relationships remain poorly understood. We present a high-throughput phenotyping framework that captures the geometry of peanut pods using digital microscopy or smartphone imaging integrated with manifold-learning for large-scale analysis and visualization. Using over 6500 pods collected across China, we identify a geographically distinct morphological signature and demonstrate accurate cultivar discrimination. This scalable approach establishes the foundation for a Large Geometric Model capable of predicting phenotypic traits and accelerating precision agriculture. Our pipeline offers a transformative tool for peanut breeding and sustainable crop improvement.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsデジタル顕微鏡・スマートフォン画像と多様体学習を統合し、ピーナッツ莢の形態を大規模に取得・解析する高スループット表現型解析フレームワークが中心である。

abstractWe present a high-throughput phenotyping framework that captures the geometry of peanut pods using digital microscopy or smartphone imaging integrated with manifold-learning for large-scale analysis and visualization.

Hierarchically scaled remote sensing and field datasets for three-dimensional wildland fuel characterization →

Abstract Background: Next-generation models of fire behavior and smoke production rely on gridded, 3D inputs of wildland fuel complexes. We used a hierarchically scaled sampling design to characterize canopy and surface fuels that are common to prescribed burning programs in the southeastern and western US. Sampling included airborne laser scanning, terrestrial laser scanning, close-range photogrammetry, and destructive field sampling. The objective of this study was to use a combination of airborne laser scanning (ALS), terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), structure-from-motion photogrammetry (SfM), and field observations to create co-located 3D datasets of live and dead understory fuels for use in wildland fuel mapping and prescribed burn decision support Results: Using our integrated, co-located methods, we produced hierarchically-scaled datasets detailing the structure and composition of canopy and surface fuels across 9 southeastern pine sites, 5 western pine sites, and 4 western grassland sites. These are now publicly available at within the Wildland Fire Science Initiative data repository (https://doi.org/10.60594/W4859C). In this paper, we detail methods and the repository structure. Conclusions: The study was designed to evaluate and advance methods for 3D fuel characterization and to provide consistently scaled and labelled datasets for model training and evaluation. More specifically, machine learning models can be used to parse 3D point clouds collected from ALS, TLS, and structure-from-motion photogrammetry into fuel objects and metrics. Calibration with field plots will allow our hierarchically-scaled datasets to be used as the foundation for synthetic fuelbed mapping, starting with fine-scale objects such as individual shrubs or downed wood and scaling to vegetation patches and operational burn units.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsALS、TLS、SfMと現地観測を統合して植物群落の3D構造・燃料特性を取得し、手法の評価・改良と公開データセット構築を主目的としているため、植物形質計測法が中心である。

abstractThe objective of this study was to use a combination of airborne laser scanning (ALS), terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), structure-from-motion photogrammetry (SfM), and field observations to create co-located 3D datasets of live and dead understory fuels for use in wildland fuel mapping and prescribed burn decision support

DBGCN: Dual-branch Graph Convolutional Network for organ instance inference on sparsely labeled 3D plant data. →

3D crop phenotyping technology provides critical support for screening morphology-related plant genes and identification of germplasm resource. Organ segmentation or recognition is the first key step in 3D crop phenotyping, where inductive deep learning currently dominates as the mainstream methodology. However, the high requirement for data annotation in inductive learning paradigm has transformed the manual data labeling into a labor-intensive task, thereby in turn restricting the progress of inductive learning. This problem has inspired us to leverage Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) as the transductive learning tool to directly segment organs on sparsely annotated crop point clouds. We propose a Dual-branch Graph Convolutional Network (DBGCN) that only requires sparse labels to perform organ instance inference directly on plant point clouds that have featureless point features. Different from existing graph-based networks, DBGCN not only carries out the static-feature-space graph convolutions that are good at mining and aggregating on local information on the point cloud, but also incorporates dynamic graph convolutions that captures the potential changes of the graph manifold in deep feature space. Extensive experiments prove that the fusion of two types of graph feature convolutions brings a high node (point) classification accuracy, outperforming mainstream GNNs and even several popular inductive deep architectures. On the PlantNet sub-dataset, DBGCN achieves an mAcc (mean accuracy of node classification) of 93.00% under 1.95% manual annotation ratio. On the Soybean-MVS sub-dataset, DBGCN achieves an mAcc of 91.05% under 4.88% manual annotation ratio. Furthermore, our DBGCN not only works well on crop 3D data but can also serve other applications such as the segmentation of point cloud data for large-scale street view. Our dataset and code can be found at https://github.com/chinazhouzhaoyi/DBGCN/tree/master/.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3D植物点群から器官を分割・推論する深層学習手法を開発し、植物フェノタイピングデータ上で精度検証しているため、表現型取得・抽出法が中心である。

abstractWe propose a Dual-branch Graph Convolutional Network (DBGCN) that only requires sparse labels to perform organ instance inference directly on plant point clouds

Leveraging time-series point clouds for dynamic crop canopy monitoring: Quantifying phenotypic variability and assessing leaf-level photosynthetic contributions. →

Time-series point clouds have emerged as an effective approach for precise, continuous crop monitoring and quantitative growth analysis. This study constructed a spatiotime-series point cloud dataset containing four species and eleven plant varieties, exploring crop organ instance segmentation, phenotypic parameter extraction, growth quantification, and canopy photosynthesis assessment. A skeleton-based framework for organ-level instance segmentation and time-series analysis is proposed, demonstrating robust performance across all four crops. To fully utilize the time-series data, a novel time-series leaf matching method was introduced, achieving a matching accuracy, defined as the proportion of correctly matched leaves, of over 0.823 for all species. By integrating the matching results with phenotypic parameter extraction, time-series phenotypic data were generated, and a phenotypic variation rate was defined as a suitable metric for quantifying crop growth. Furthermore, these results were integrated into a canopy photosynthesis model to derive key time-series photosynthetic metrics, including photosynthetic rate, absorbed light quantity, light energy utilization efficiency, and each crop organ's contribution to photosynthesis. These metrics provide insights into the crop's growth patterns and photosynthetic strategy. This study offers refined quantitative analysis of crop morphology and photosynthetic parameters through time-series point cloud segmentation, contributing valuable data for advancing plant biology research and enhancing the understanding of crop growth dynamics.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods時系列点群から作物器官をセグメンテーションし、葉追跡、形態形質、成長量、光合成関連指標を抽出する手法が研究の中心であるため。

abstractA skeleton-based framework for organ-level instance segmentation and time-series analysis is proposed

A LiDAR-based machine vision dataset for online volume measurement of sweetpotatoes. →

Volume is an important shape descriptor in postharvest quality evaluation and breeding programs of sweetpotatoes and is also valuable for other agricultural engineering applications. Traditional volume measurement methods based on water displacement are, however, laborious, destructive, and unsuitable for high-throughput online scenarios. To address this gap, this dataset was developed to support the advancement of non-destructive, automated online volume estimation using a LiDAR (light detection and ranging)-based three-dimensional (3-D) machine vision system. A total of 200 sweetpotato storage roots of the cultivar "Beauregard" were collected for constructing a 3-D multi-view imagery dataset. Each sample was imaged online using a short-range LiDAR camera (Intel RealSense™ L515) while traveling on a custom-built roller conveyor system that enables simultaneous translation and rotation for full-surface coverage. The curated dataset comprises raw color images (1280 × 720 pixels, .png format) and corresponding raw and segmented point clouds (1280 × 720 pixels, .laz format) for individual samples, alongside the reference volume measurements obtained using the standard water displacement method. In addition, to illustrate the modeling pipeline for volume prediction, the dataset provides the extracted geometric features derived from the segmented two-dimensional (2-D) masks and point clouds, and volume prediction results obtained through regression modeling. As the first publicly available LiDAR-based dataset for sweetpotato volume estimation, this dataset provides a valuable resource for developing and validating image processing pipelines, optimizing machine learning models, and advancing 3-D vision technologies for non-destructive, rapid measurement of the volume of irregularly shaped agricultural products.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsサツマイモ貯蔵根の体積という植物器官形質をLiDAR 3D画像から推定する公開データセットであり、取得系・参照測定・特徴抽出・予測結果を含むため、フェノタイピング手法とデータセットが中心です。

abstractthis dataset was developed to support the advancement of non-destructive, automated online volume estimation using a LiDAR (light detection and ranging)-based three-dimensional (3-D) machine vision system.

Synthetic-augmented multimodal deep learning fuses dual-angle RGB images and phenology to unlock genotype-informative canopy structural trait in wheat. →

The wheat canopy genome harbors abundant yet untapped genetic variation that could be harnessed to enhance yield potential. The green area index (GAI) is a structural metric that reflects the photosynthetically active canopy surface and is closely linked to final grain yield. Current image-based GAI retrieval methods often suffer from signal saturation and coarse structural depiction, constraining downstream genetic analyses. To address this limitation, we constructed a comprehensive image dataset spanning eight field experiments across China and France, encompassing approximately 600 genotypes under six distinct management regimes. Leveraging this diverse data, we developed a multimodal deep-learning framework augmented by simulated-to-realistic (sim2real) synthetic data transfer. This framework fuses nadir and oblique RGB images with accumulated thermal time to produce high-precision, time-series GAI estimates. Validated on independent testing datasets from both China and France, the multimodal approach demonstrated robust performance with an accuracy of R 2 = 0.88 and an RMSE of 0.49 m 2 m -2 , representing an improvement of about 22% over the traditional gap fraction method. In three site-year field experiments involving 565 genotypes, the GAI dynamics derived from the multimodal approach showed higher broad-sense heritability (0.20-0.48) than those from the gap fraction approach (0.02-0.13) and stronger genotypic correlations with yield (0.19-0.40 versus 0.09-0.31). Furthermore, genetic analysis confirmed the biological fidelity of the estimated traits, identifying loci that co-localize with known architectural regulators such as Rht-D1 , TaTB1-4D , and TaBGC1-4D . Consistently, the multimodal-derived phenotypes were specifically enriched in cell-wall remodeling and hormonal signaling pathways (e.g., brassinosteroid) that directly regulate canopy expansion. Overall, the proposed method offers a powerful tool for unlocking genetic gain in canopy architecture and accelerating canopy-targeted wheat improvement.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsデュアルアングルRGB画像と熱時間を統合してGAIを推定する深層学習法を開発し、独立データで検証しているため、植物形質取得法が研究の中心です。

abstractwe constructed a comprehensive image dataset spanning eight field experiments across China and France

A novel point cloud completion model for three-dimensional reconstruction of complex, dynamic population-level crop canopy architecture →

Quantitative characterization of complete canopy architecture is essential for accurate evaluation of crop photosynthesis and yield potential, thereby supporting crop ideotype design. Although various sensing technologies enable three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of individual plants and canopies, they often fail to describe canopy architecture accurately because of severe occlusion in dense populations. To address this limitation, we developed an effective framework for the 3D reconstruction of complex and dynamic population-scale canopy architecture in rapeseed using unmanned aerial vehicle multi-view imagery combined with a novel point cloud completion model. A complete point cloud generation pipeline was first established to enable automated training data annotation, allowing discrimination between surface points and occluded points within the canopy. The proposed crop population point cloud completion network (CP-PCN) integrates a multi-resolution dynamic graph convolutional encoder, a point pyramid decoder, a dynamic graph convolutional feature extractor, and a generative adversarial network-based loss function to predict occluded canopy points. CP-PCN achieved chamfer distance values of 3.35 to 4.51 cm across four growth stages, outperforming the state-of-the-art transformer-based method PoinTr. Ablation analyses confirmed that each of the four modules contributes to overall model accuracy. In addition, validation experiments showed that the improved architectural completeness achieved by CP-PCN resulted in more accurate yield estimation compared with incomplete and PoinTr-completed point clouds. CP-PCN also demonstrated strong cross-crop generalizability by successfully reconstructing mature rice canopies. Overall, this framework provides a scalable approach for quantitative analysis of complex canopy architectures in field-grown crops.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsUAVマルチビュー画像から遮蔽点を補完し、作物群落の3Dキャノピー構造を再構成する手法を開発・検証しており、植物表現型取得が研究の中心です。

abstractwe developed an effective framework for the 3D reconstruction of complex and dynamic population-scale canopy architecture in rapeseed using unmanned aerial vehicle multi-view imagery combined with a novel point cloud completion model

Efficient and accurate tiller counting of hand-collected samples using images of straw bundles. →

We present a novel method for accurately counting winter wheat tillers based on RGB images from hand-collected samples. An efficient sample preparation method assembles wheat tillers into bundles from which individual tillers are robustly detected automatically, using classical image analysis. A custom-made user interface ('TillerCounter' program) allows adjusting the automatic detections interactively, which leads to highly accurate tiller counts comparable to the ground truth obtained by manual counting. The key contributions of our work include:1.An efficient method for imaging straw tillers based on bundle assembly.2.An extensive study of the obtained image quality and comparison with the ground truth data from manual counting.3.Demonstration of the approach's high accuracy using correlation analysis (Pearson correlation coefficient R = 0.973 compared to ground truth) and error analysis (root mean squared relative errors below 5 %).

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods小麦分げつ数という植物形態形質を、画像取得・古典的画像解析・専用ソフトウェアで自動推定し、手動計数を基準に精度検証しているため、フェノタイピング手法が中心です。

abstractWe present a novel method for accurately counting winter wheat tillers based on RGB images from hand-collected samples.

Quantifying wheat spike morphology by high resolution 3D surface scanning →

Abstract An understanding of spike shape will be of great benefit for improving wheat yields. Traditional manual measurements of spike traits are slow and prone to human error, preventing large-scale phenotyping. Employing imaging techniques will allow researchers to measure multiple morphometric parameters simultaneously. While 2D imaging provides a rapid screening method, 3D imaging offer a more comprehensive understanding of spike shape, revealing complex external structures. This study addresses the challenge of developing a high-resolution 3D surface-scanning pipeline to accurately quantify wheat spike morphology across diverse genotypes. Using a 3D surface-scanner, sharp point clouds of individual spikes were reconstructed and automatically aligned and analysed to extract key morphological features including spike length, volume, and thickness profile. New shape descriptors based on thickness profiles, local extremes, statistical curve fitting, segmentation of spikes into zones of aborted spikelets, base and apical segments as well as the extraction of spike/spikelets branching and endpoints of components were introduced to capture detailed structural variation between genotypes. Correlations between the 3D-derived traits and traditional metrics such as spike weight, spikelet number and seed weight confirmed the biological relevance of the extracted parameters. The method distinguished morphological differences among twelve wheat genotypes, revealing distinct shape types such as long, short, compact, and awned spikes. By combining precise 3D imaging with computational analysis, this approach provides a non-destructive framework for spike phenotyping. These findings demonstrate that 3D surface-scanning can deliver accurate and reproducible measurements of wheat spike architecture, offering new opportunities for linking morphology with genetics and yield potential in modern breeding programs.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods小麦穂の形態形質を3D画像から抽出するパイプラインを開発し、形質の相関・遺伝子型間比較で検証しており、表現型取得法が研究の中心である。

abstractThis study addresses the challenge of developing a high-resolution 3D surface-scanning pipeline to accurately quantify wheat spike morphology across diverse genotypes.

PlantCV v4: Image analysis software for high‐throughput plant phenotyping →

Abstract PlantCV is an open‐source Python project aimed at developing tools to address a range of image‐based, plant phenotyping questions. PlantCV has been used for more than 10 years to automate trait collection from image data, and the newest release, PlantCV version 4, continues to lower the barrier to entry for users without substantial coding experience through extensive example use‐case tutorials and simplified installation. In addition to usability, we document added functionality since the release of PlantCV v2, including support for more image types such as fluorescence, thermal, and hyperspectral data. Finally, we describe the development of a new subpackage focused on morphological trait measurements like leaf angle, and demonstrate its utility as compared to more manual methods of data collection.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsPlantCV v4は、画像から植物形質を自動抽出するオープンソースソフトウェアの開発・機能拡張・比較評価を主題としており、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractPlantCV is an open‐source Python project aimed at developing tools to address a range of image‐based, plant phenotyping questions.

Synchronized UAV multi-angle inversion of canopy structure parameters in wheat breeding materials. →

Estimating canopy structure - leaf inclination distribution (LIDFa), leaf area index (LAI), and fractional vegetation cover (FCover) - is vital for breeding, yet the added value of multi-angular UAV sensing over nadir-only baselines remains insufficiently quantified. This study developed a UAV-based multi-angular inversion framework that derived high-resolution bidirectional reflectance factors (BRF) from oblique photogrammetry and fitted a kernel-driven BRDF model to characterize reflectance anisotropy. Using transfer learning across cultivars and dates, we compared the retrieval performance of multi-angle versus nadir-only baselines for LIDFa, LAI, and FCover. BRDF model simulations agreed well with airborne BRF (optimal R 2 > 0.80, RRMSE R 2 = 0.59 vs. 0.38 for the best MA and NAD models, respectively) and LIDFa ( R 2 = 0.46 vs. 0.37). For FCover, both configurations achieved high accuracy ( R 2 ≥ 0.73), with MA models providing marginal gains ( R 2 = 0.75). Methodologically, CNN-based transfer learning proved most effective for LAI and FCover, while a Random Forest model using raw multi-angle spectra yielded the best results for LIDFa. Optimal viewing configurations were trait-dependent, generally favoring forward scattering directions with zenith angles between 15° and 45°. These results indicate that kernel-driven BRDF modeling effectively captures spectral anisotropy in dense wheat canopies, and that multi-angular observations provide a distinct advantage for retrieving structural parameters with complex scattering behaviors, such as LAI and LIDFa.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods小麦育種材料のキャノピー構造形質を対象に、UAVマルチアングルセンシング、BRDFモデル、CNN/RFによる推定フレームワークを開発・比較しており、形質取得手法が研究の中心である。

abstractThis study developed a UAV-based multi-angular inversion framework that derived high-resolution bidirectional reflectance factors (BRF) from oblique photogrammetry and fitted a kernel-driven BRDF model to characterize reflectance anisotropy.

Branch architecture reconstruction and phenotypic trait analysis of poplar trees using low-cost UAV LiDAR point clouds. →

Poplars are essential to China's forestry, contributing to timber production, ecological restoration, and shelterbelt construction. Branch architecture critically influences tree growth, demanding scalable solutions beyond manual methods to assess phenotypic variation in large-scale poplar breeding programs. Unmanned aerial vehicle light detection and ranging (UAV LiDAR) provides an efficient alternative; however, existing methods focus on conifers, leaving a gap in approaches for the more complex morphology of poplar branches. This study proposes a poplar branch reconstruction algorithm utilizing material transport flux and object-level geometric features from low-cost UAV LiDAR data. First, a voxel-based near-centroid method is used to extract skeleton points from tree point clouds. Next, a material transport flux model identifies individual branches, and geometric features of transport paths, including path length and curvature, are used to reconstruct each branch. Finally, branch parameters are estimated based on reconstructed branches. Data from a 5-ha plot were collected using the DJI Zenmuse L1 UAV LiDAR at the Shishou National Poplar Breeding Station, Hubei Province, China. Results demonstrate the proposed algorithm achieves high accuracy in first-order branch identification (F1-score = 1), with second-order branches having an average F1-score of 0.69. Branch length estimation demonstrates an RMSE of 0.47 m, while branch angles show an RMSE of 7.06°. The study also reveals structural variability in branch traits, with the highest variability observed in the second-order branch length (coefficient of variation = 29.68%), and a moderate positive correlation between first- and second-order branch lengths (correlation coefficient = 0.34), providing insights into tree growth patterns. This approach offers a framework for high-throughput phenotyping, which provides an efficient solution towrads advanced tree breeding using UAV LiDAR.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsUAV LiDARによるポプラの枝構造再構成と枝長・枝角度などの形質推定アルゴリズムを開発し、精度検証まで行っており、フェノタイピング手法が研究の中心である。

abstractThis study proposes a poplar branch reconstruction algorithm utilizing material transport flux and object-level geometric features from low-cost UAV LiDAR data.

Disentangling blade and vasculature shape in grapevine leaves →

The leaf blade and vasculature develop together within a shared morphological space. Despite shared molecular patterning pathways, it is unknown if developmental and evolutionary variation affect these tissues separately or together in a coordinated way. Grapevine leaves have a morphometric history and abundant data measuring the shape of the blade and vasculature together. Using a combination of topological data analysis and deep learning, we perform reciprocal semantic segmentation of leaf blade and vasculature. Each tissue contains sufficient information to predict the other. We hypothesize that this is due to a one-to-one relationship between blade and vein. Using thin plate splines to swap and warp different combinations of blade and vein shapes, we show that a set of leaves with a many-to-one relationship of blade and vein are distinguishable from true leaves. We also swap blade and vein across the developmental series and between species and show that only reversing the developmental series disrupts the relationship between blade and vasculature. We end by discussing the evolutionary and developmental implications that there is a unique, one-to-one mapping between blade and vein that allows each to be predicted from the other. Author summary Leaves are made of two closely connected parts: the flat blade that captures light and the network of veins that transports water, nutrients, and developmental signals. Although these tissues grow together and share common molecular patterning pathways, it has remained unclear whether a particular blade shape is uniquely linked to a specific vein pattern. In this study, we use grapevine leaves as a model system and combine mathematical shape analysis with deep learning to examine this relationship. We show that the shape of the blade alone can accurately predict the vein network, and that the vein network can likewise predict the blade. This finding suggests a near one-to-one relationship between these two tissues. To test this idea, we created artificial leaves in which blade and vein shapes were deliberately mismatched. Although these synthetic leaves appeared realistic at a global level, a neural network was able to distinguish them from real leaves based on subtle differences. We further show that this tight coupling is maintained by the developmental sequence of leaf growth rather than by species identity, revealing a conserved constraint linking leaf form and internal structure.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods葉身と葉脈の形状を深層学習による相互セグメンテーションと形状解析で抽出・予測する方法が研究の中心であり、植物形態表現型の方法開発に該当する。

abstractUsing a combination of topological data analysis and deep learning, we perform reciprocal semantic segmentation of leaf blade and vasculature.

Genetic dynamics drive maize growth and breeding. →

BACKGROUND: Phenotypic diversity arises from the process of development and is shaped by genomic variation in plants. However, the genetic basis of growth dynamics remains poorly understood in maize. RESULTS: Here, we analyze 679 maize inbred lines derived from a synthetic CUBIC population with approximately 2.8 million SNPs, leveraging high-throughput phenotyping to capture 1,002,240 RGB images across 18 growth stages. We quantify 67 image-based traits (i-traits), revealing distinct dynamic patterns throughout development. Genome-wide association studies identify 857 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) influencing growth variation, with 88.6% classified as period-specific dynamic QTLs exhibiting modest effects, and 11.4% as conservative QTLs with sustained effects. Notably, 1.5% of cryptic pleiotropic QTLs spanning different growth stages suggest genetic relocations during development. These QTLs enhance heritability estimates for mature traits by an average of 6.2%. We further characterize the novel function of key genes linked with these QTLs, including BRD1 with the pleiotropic effects on plant height and perimeter of convex hull and ZmGalOx1 with the broad-spectrum regulation of plant architecture. Developmental rewiring of epistatic networks shapes maize growth, underscoring the vitality of temporal genetic regulation. Trajectory modeling of i-traits across periods decodes the growth variation patterns, supporting the ontogenic hypothesis driven predictive breeding strategies. CONCLUSION: The findings elucidate the genetic architecture underlying growth dynamics from a spatial-temporal perspective, offering novel insights for maize improvement.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods大規模RGB画像から67の画像形質を抽出し、発育段階ごとのトレイト動態を解析する高スループット植物表現型解析が研究の中核であるため、方法応用として収録する。

abstractleveraging high-throughput phenotyping to capture 1,002,240 RGB images across 18 growth stages

Co-Registration of UAV and Handheld LiDAR Data for Fine Phenotyping of Rubber Plantations with Complex Canopies. →

Rubber tree phenotyping is transitioning from labor-intensive manual techniques toward high-throughput intelligent sensing platforms. However, the advancement of high-throughput phenotyping remains hindered by complex canopy architectures and pronounced seasonal morphological variations. To address these challenges, this paper introduces a unified phenotyping framework that leverages a novel Wood Salient Keypoint (WSK)-based registration algorithm to achieve seamless data fusion from unmanned aerial vehicle laser scanning (ULS) and handheld laser scanning (HLS) systems. The proposed approach begins by extracting stable wooden structures through a region-of-interest (ROI) segmentation process. Repeatable WSKs are then generated using a newly proposed wood structure significance (WSS) score, which quantifies and identifies salient regions across multi-view data. For transformation estimation, descriptor matching, WSS constraints, and geometric consistency optimization are integrated into a fast global registration (FGR) pipeline. Extensive evaluation across 25 plots covering 5 sites at the National rubber plantation base in Danzhou, Hainan, China, demonstrates that the method achieves a mean co-registration accuracy of 9 cm. Further analysis under varying seasonal canopy complexities confirms its robustness and critical role in enabling high-precision rubber tree phenotyping.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsゴム樹の表現型取得を目的に、UAVおよびハンドヘルドLiDARのデータ融合・位置合わせ手法を開発し、複数圃場で精度と季節変動下の頑健性を評価しているため、方法が中心的である。

abstractthis paper introduces a unified phenotyping framework that leverages a novel Wood Salient Keypoint (WSK)-based registration algorithm to achieve seamless data fusion from unmanned aerial vehicle laser scanning (ULS) and handheld laser scanning (HLS) systems.

Stem microanatomical phenomic uncovers a potential role for ZmLSM2 in regulating maize stem bending strength. →

Modern maize stems possess a well-developed vascular bundle system, which is critical for providing mechanical support and lodging resistance. However, characterization of the microanatomical features of vascular bundles and their functional implications in stem mechanics remains challenging, primarily due to technical limitations in high-throughput microanatomical analysis of stem tissues. We thus constructed data sets consisting of over 500,000 maize stem CT images from a maize diversity panel of 383 inbred lines. We evaluated 32 microanatomical phenotypes of maize basal internodes across two environments in different years. By incorporating engineering mechanics parameters, we calculated novel characteristics of the vascular bundles, including the moment of area (MOA) and the polar moment of inertia (PMOI). Through the high-density phenotypic data set, we identified multiple stem microanatomical phenotypes strongly associated with lodging resistance, particularly of vascular bundle mechanical traits. By integrating population genetic profiling, we discovered and confirmed that ZmLSM2 (U6 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein specific Sm-like 2) serves as a key regulator of stem mechanical strength, might function in RNA processing and maturation within vascular stem cells, identifying novel genetic targets for improving maize lodging resistance. This approach demonstrates the value of combining advanced phenotyping with multi-omics analyses for crop improvement. These discoveries will deepen the understanding of plant stem biomechanical principles and provide novel targets for enhancing lodging resistance in crop breeding programs.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsトウモロコシ茎のCT画像から微細構造形質を高スループットに抽出する表現型解析基盤とデータセットが研究の中心であり、単なる生物学的測定ではない。

abstracttechnical limitations in high-throughput microanatomical analysis of stem tissues

High-density field-based 3D reconstruction of rice architecture across diverse cultivars for genome-wide association studies →

Background Rice plant architecture underpins yield and grain quality, yet two obstacles impede accurate field characterization in dense paddies. First, single-plant reconstruction is constrained by severe inter-plant occlusion, cluttered backgrounds, and limited viewpoints. These factors obscure culms, leaves, basal tillers, and the true physical scale of the plant. Active ranging devices are cumbersome in outdoor plots and can lose accuracy, whereas conventional passive photogrammetry performs poorly under such conditions. Second, delineating panicles within a 3D rice model is intrinsically difficult. Panicles are slender, highly branched, and visually similar to surrounding foliage, often interwoven and partially hidden. These factors result in fragmented boundaries and missing details. Direct point-cloud segmentation struggles with such discontinuous geometry and requires costly 3D annotation, whereas generic image segmentation models trained on natural scenes transfer poorly to paddy imagery. These challenges motivate a field-ready workflow that both reconstructs whole plants at high resolution in dense plantings and reliably segments panicles to enable trait extraction. Results A low-cost, in-field, multi-view pipeline for whole-plant three-dimensional reconstruction, termed One Stop 3D Target Reconstruction And segmentation (OSTRA), operates on color images with a reference-board setup. The pipeline builds detailed three-dimensional models of individual rice plants and automatically segments key organs (in this case, panicles), despite dense surrounding vegetation. When applied to 231 diverse rice landraces grown in a crowded field setting, the method produced high-fidelity plant models with clearly delineated panicle structures. From these reconstructions, three architectural traits were derived: plant height, leaf area, and panicle length. Genome-wide association analysis of the measured traits identified strong genotype-phenotype associations tagging known candidate genes. Natural variants at D2 and RFL/APO2 were associated with plant height variation, variants at FLW7 were linked to differences in leaf area, and allelic variation at AAI1 corresponded to panicle length variation. These loci are established regulators of plant growth and morphology, indicating that this three-dimensional phenotyping pipeline attains accuracy sufficient to rediscover meaningful genetic signals. Conclusions This study provides a practical tool for precise rice phenotyping even under dense field planting conditions, overcoming occlusion and structural complexity. By enabling non-destructive, field-based measurement of complete plant architecture and linking these phenotypes to specific genes, the pipeline bridges field phenomics and genomics. The integrated reconstruction and analysis framework advances the study of rice architecture and offers a general route to connect complex traits with their genetic determinants.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods密植圃場でのイネ全体3D再構築、器官分割、形質抽出を中核とする画像ベース表現型解析手法の開発・実証であり、明確に収載対象。

abstractA low-cost, in-field, multi-view pipeline for whole-plant three-dimensional reconstruction, termed One Stop 3D Target Reconstruction And segmentation (OSTRA), operates on color images with a reference-board setup.

A Biomass-Driven 3D Structural Model for Banana (Musa spp.) Fruit Fingers Across Genotypes →

Banana (Musa spp.) fruit morphology is a key determinant of yield and quality, yet modeling its 3D structural dynamics across genotypes remains difficult. To address this challenge, we developed a generic, biomass-driven 3D structural model for banana fruit fingers that quantitatively links growth and morphology. Field experiments were conducted over two growing seasons in Hainan, China, using three representative genotypes. Morphological traits, including outer and inner arc length, circumference, and pedicel length, along with dry (Wd) and fresh weight (Wf), were measured every 10 days after flowering until 110 days. Quantitative relationships between morphological traits and Wf, as well as between Wd and Wf, were fitted using linear or Gompertz functions with genotype-specific parameters. Based on these functions, a parameterized 3D reconstruction method was implemented in Python, combining biomass-driven growth equations, curvature geometry, and cross-sectional interpolation to simulate the fruit’s bending, tapering, and volumetric development. The resulting dynamic 3D models accurately reproduced genotype-specific differences in curvature, length, and shape with average fitting R2 > 0.95. The proposed biomass-driven 3D structural model provides a methodological framework for integrating banana fruit morphology into functional–structural plant models.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsバナナ果実の形態形質を推定・再現するバイオマス駆動型3D構造モデルを開発し、遺伝子型間の形状を検証しており、フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractwe developed a generic, biomass-driven 3D structural model for banana fruit fingers that quantitatively links growth and morphology.

Forest Surveying with Robotics and AI: SLAM-Based Mapping, Terrain-Aware Navigation, and Tree Parameter Estimation →

Forest surveying and inspection face significant challenges due to unstructured environments, variable terrain conditions, and the high costs of manual data collection. Although mobile robotics and artificial intelligence offer promising solutions, reliable autonomous navigation in forest, terrain-aware path planning, and tree parameter estimation remain open challenges. In this paper, we present the results of the AI4FOREST project, which addresses these issues through three main contributions. First, we develop an autonomous mobile robot, integrating SLAM-based navigation, 3D point cloud reconstruction, and a vision-based deep learning architecture to enable tree detection and diameter estimation. This system demonstrates the feasibility of generating a digital twin of forest while operating autonomously. Second, to overcome the limitations of classical navigation approaches in heterogeneous natural terrains, we introduce a machine learning-based surrogate model of wheel–soil interaction, trained on a large synthetic dataset derived from classical terramechanics. Compared to purely geometric planners, the proposed model enables realistic dynamics simulation and improves navigation robustness by accounting for terrain–vehicle interactions. Finally, we investigate the impact of point cloud density on the accuracy of forest parameter estimation, identifying the minimum sampling requirements needed to extract tree diameters and heights. This analysis provides support to balance sensor performance, robot speed, and operational costs. Overall, the AI4FOREST project advances the state of the art in autonomous forest monitoring by jointly addressing SLAM-based mapping, terrain-aware navigation, and tree parameter estimation.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods自律ロボット、3D点群、深層学習を用いて樹木の直径・高さを推定する手法を開発し、点群密度による推定精度も評価しており、植物形質取得が中心である。

abstractwe develop an autonomous mobile robot, integrating SLAM-based navigation, 3D point cloud reconstruction, and a vision-based deep learning architecture to enable tree detection and diameter estimation.

3D reconstruction analysis of maize-soybean intercropping competition under water stress. →

Maize-soybean intercropping is a sustainable intensive agroecosystem, though the productivity is constrained by interspecific competition for water and light resources. To enhance the water use efficiency in this intercropping system and understand canopy structure dynamics under the water-limited conditions of arid northwest China, this study proposes a novel optimization strategy that synchronizes deficit irrigation scheduling with crop-specific water requirements during critical phenological phases. Four irrigation regimes were implemented: W1 (full irrigation for both maize and soybean crops), W2 (maize-full and soybean-deficit), W3 (maize-deficit and soybean-full), and W4 (dual deficit). Through UAV-based high-resolution 3D canopy reconstruction (R = 0.98 for plant height validation), 14 spatial-geometric descriptors were quantified. The W2 strategy demonstrated superior competitive coordination, enhancing aggressivity of maize (Ams) by 85.9 % through strategic canopy reconfiguration: 11.8 % reduction in maize maximum leaf layer width position (MLLWP), 28.3 % decrease in inter-specific canopy overlap area (COA), and 40.0 % compression of shading convex hull volume (SCHV). These optimized structural adaptations synergistically enhanced photosynthetically active radiation interception (+13.4 %) while achieving concurrent reductions in crop evapotranspiration (ET, -19.7 %) without yield penalty, thereby elevating irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) by 14.4 % and water equivalent ratio (WER) by 15.9 %. This work provides mechanistic insights into canopy architecture-mediated resource competition mitigation and establishes a technological framework for sustainable intensification in water-limited environments.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsUAVによる3Dキャノピー再構成を用いた植物構造形質の取得と検証が、灌漑試験の主要な解析基盤として明示されているため、実質的なフェノタイピング手法の応用に該当する。

abstractThrough UAV-based high-resolution 3D canopy reconstruction (R = 0.98 for plant height validation), 14 spatial-geometric descriptors were quantified.

SOY3DSEG: A high-precision universal point cloud segmentation model for soybean full growth period based on improved point transformer. →

Three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction technologies for crops are of significant importance in the context of smart breeding and precision agriculture, as they enable accurate characterization of crop spatial architecture and developmental dynamics. Such capabilities provide essential phenotypic information for the rapid selection of breeding materials and informed agronomic decision-making. A critical requirement for the practical application of crop 3D models is high-accuracy organ-level segmentation. However, the absence of a stage-universal segmentation framework capable of operating across complete soybean growth cycle remains a major bottleneck hindering progress in this field. To address this issue, we propose SOY3DSEG-a high-precision framework based on an improved Point Transformer, designed to support the full developmental spectrum of soybean (V1-R7). The framework incorporates a novel down sampling strategy termed Dynamic Multi-Stage Sampling Strategy (DMSS), alongside multi-scale feature enhancement and a local geometry-aware attention mechanism, enhancing segmentation accuracy and efficiency. Performance evaluations across 12 consecutive soybean growth stages (V1 to R7) indicate that SOY3DSEG achieved an average mean Intersection-over-Union (mIoU) of 93.34 % for stem-leaf segmentation-surpassing RandLA-Net, BAAF-Net, PointNet++, and PointConv by over 30 %, and outperforming the baseline Point Transformer by 14.18 %. A moderate accuracy decline appears at R6-R7 due to dense canopies and strong occlusion, yet SOY3DSEG retains clear superiority over the baseline Point Transformer, demonstrating robustness under complex morphology. In cross-crop transfer tests limited to early seedling stages of maize and tomato, the model achieves an mIoU of approximately 99 %, indicating strong early-stage transferability while mature-stage generalization across species remains open for future study. SOY3DSEG thus provides a stage-robust and scalable solution for full-cycle soybean phenotyping and growth monitoring, contributing to precision agricultural practice.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods大豆の3D点群から器官レベル形態を抽出する分割フレームワークを開発・評価しており、植物表現型取得手法が研究の中心である。

abstractA critical requirement for the practical application of crop 3D models is high-accuracy organ-level segmentation.

Spatially resolved analysis of growth dynamics in pome and drupe fruits of Rosaceae using 3D Gaussian Splatting. →

Fruit growth has long been described using single- or double-sigmoid curves; however, these temporal models cannot fully capture the spatial heterogeneity that ultimately shapes a fruit. Here, we present a three-dimensional analysis pipeline that non-destructively tracks spatial fruit growth dynamics from field-collected imagery. Surface landmarks were drawn, and video recordings were taken throughout development for three pome fruits, apple ( Malus × domestica ), Japanese pear ( Pyrus pyrifolia ) and European pear ( Pyrus communis ), and two drupe fruits, peach ( Prunus persica ) and Japanese apricot ( Prunus mume ), to track their motion. Using 3D Gaussian splatting, we successfully reconstructed 3D models of the fruits, and the landmark displacement could be measured with high accuracy, with R 2 ≥ 0.98 when compared to manual recordings. We found a common spatial growth gradient in the longitudinal growth shared in the pomes and drupes of the Rosaceae; proximal (stem-end) regions exhibited more pronounced growth than the distal (stylar) end. An exception was found in European pear 'Bartlett,' which showed relatively vigorous growth in the distal region, explaining its distinct shape with expanded distal end. Transverse expansion varied far less than longitudinal expansion, with a possible association with initial fruit morphology. Inter-fruit growth variability peaked in the fastest-growing regions, particularly in the distal area of the European pear, highlighting the link between growth vigor and phenotypic variance. These results provide foundational insights into the developmental dynamics of both pome and drupe fruits of the Rosaceae family, contributing to the optimization of fruit size, shape, and uniformity.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3D画像解析パイプラインと3D Gaussian Splattingを用いて果実の空間的成長を非破壊計測し、手動記録との精度比較で検証しているため、植物表現型取得法が中心である。

abstractHere, we present a three-dimensional analysis pipeline that non-destructively tracks spatial fruit growth dynamics from field-collected imagery.

Image-based rachis phenotyping facilitates genetic dissection of spikelet distribution in wheat →

The distribution of spikelets significantly affects wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) spike architecture. However, traditional methods lack the precision to study spikelet distribution effectively. We developed RachisSeg, a deep learning-based phenotyping pipeline that automatically measures traits from scanned rachis images. In addition to traditional spikelet number per spike (SNS), rachis length (RL), and spikelet density (SD, SNS/RL), we introduced spikelet distribution traits based on rachis internode lengths, providing quantitative insights into spike architecture. RachisSeg showed high consistency with manual measurements for SNS and RL, with the R2 values of 0.975 and 0.998, respectively. Using RachisSeg, we analyzed spikelet distribution patterns across wheat germplasm and found that traits such as spikelet distribution index (SDI) and apical-to-basal spikelet number ratio (AVB_SNS) were moderately correlated with grain yield per spike (GYPS) (r = 0.57 and 0.53, respectively), while internode width (IW) showed a strong positive correlation with GYPS (r = 0.75). Specifically, a denser spikelet arrangement in the upper spike negatively impacted grain number and weight in that section. Furthermore, comparative analysis revealed distinct spikelet distribution patterns among landraces, American cultivars, and Chinese cultivars. In a recombinant inbred line population, we identified 46 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with rachis traits. A major QTL controlling SDI was detected on chromosome 6B, explaining up to 24.8% of the phenotypic variance. Candidate gene analysis suggested TraesCS6B02G417000 as a potential gene, whose mutant exhibited significant changes in RL and SDI. RachisSeg is a powerful tool for quantifying spikelet distribution, facilitating wheat genetic analysis, gene discovery, and breeding.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsRachisSegは、スキャン画像からコムギ穂軸・小穂分布形質を自動抽出する深層学習フェノタイピング手法として開発・検証されており、方法が研究の中心です。

abstractWe developed RachisSeg, a deep learning-based phenotyping pipeline that automatically measures traits from scanned rachis images.

pyRootHair: Machine learning accelerated software for high-throughput phenotyping of plant root hair traits →

Background Root hairs play a key role in plant nutrient and water uptake. Historically, root hair traits have largely been quantified manually. As such, this process has been laborious and low-throughput. However, given their importance for plant health and development, high-throughput quantification of root hair morphology could help underpin rapid advances in the genetic understanding of these traits. With recent increases in the accessibility and availability of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning techniques, the development of tools to automate plant phenotyping processes has been greatly accelerated. Results We present pyRootHair, a high-throughput, AI-powered software application to automate root hair trait extraction from microscope images of plant roots grown on agar plates. pyRootHair is capable of batch processing over 600 images per hour without manual input from the end user. In this study, we deploy pyRootHair on a panel of 24 diverse wheat (Triticum aestivum and Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) cultivars and uncover a large, previously unresolved amount of variation in many root hair traits. We show that the overall root hair profile falls under 2 distinct shape categories and that different root hair traits often correlate with each other. We also demonstrate that pyRootHair can be deployed on a range of plant species, including oat (Avena sativa), rice (Oryza sativa), teff (Eragrostis tef), and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Conclusions The application of pyRootHair enables users to rapidly screen a large number of plant germplasm resources for variation in root hair morphology, supporting high-resolution measurements and high-throughput data analysis. This facilitates downstream investigation of the impacts of root hair genetic control and morphological variation on plant performance. pyRootHair is installable via PyPI (https://pypi.org/project/pyRootHair/) and can be accessed on GitHub at https://github.com/iantsang779/pyRootHair.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物根毛形態を顕微鏡画像から自動抽出するAIソフトウェアを開発し、複数作物で適用・実証しており、表現型取得手法が研究の中心である。

abstractWe present pyRootHair, a high-throughput, AI-powered software application to automate root hair trait extraction from microscope images of plant roots grown on agar plates.

Open RGB imaging workflow for morphological and morphometric analysis of fruits using deep learning: a case study on almonds. →

Background High-throughput phenotyping is addressing the current bottleneck in phenotyping within breeding programs. Imaging tools are becoming the primary resource for improving the efficiency of phenotyping processes and providing large datasets for genomic selection approaches. The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) brings new advantages by enhancing phenotyping methods using imaging, making them more accessible to breeding programs. In this context, we have developed an open Python workflow for analyzing morphology, color, and morphometric traits using AI, which can be applied to fruits and other plant organs. Results The workflow was implemented in almond (Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D. A. Webb), a species where breeding efficiency is critical due to its long breeding cycle. Over 25,000 kernels, more than 20,000 nuts, and over 600 individuals were phenotyped, making this the largest morphological study conducted in almond so far. The best segmentation and reconstruction approaches achieved error rates below 1%. Weight and area variables enabled accurate estimation of kernel thickness, with a root mean squared error of 0.47. Fifty-five heritable morphological, morphometric, and color traits were identified, highlighting their potential as target traits in breeding programs. Conclusion The proposed workflow demonstrated robust performance across diverse datasets and was effective with limited training data for fine-tuning. Its compatibility with the output of AI-based labeling tools allows users to fully leverage the advantages of these technologies-reducing manual effort, accelerating dataset preparation, and streamlining the fine-tuning process of segmentation models. This flexibility enhances the scalability and practical applicability of the workflow in real-world phenotyping scenarios, especially in the context of breeding programs.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物器官の形態・色・形状特性を抽出するオープンなRGB画像解析ワークフローを開発し、分割・再構成精度も検証しているため、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心です。

abstractwe have developed an open Python workflow for analyzing morphology, color, and morphometric traits using AI, which can be applied to fruits and other plant organs.

AI-powered measurement verification and reporting system for agroforestry trees to estimate carbon sequestration potential →

Nature-based climate solutions, such as agroforestry, offer potential for carbon sequestration while providing co-benefits. However, the lack of scalable and low-cost measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems limits smallholder participation in carbon markets. This study presents the DiameterAlgorithm, a non-contact method for tree diameter estimation using semantic segmentation and two-dimensional photogrammetry. The fine-tuned model achieved a mean intersection over union (mIoU) of 0.937. The algorithm was tested on image datasets from managed trees settings in Kenya (n = 142) and Pennsylvania, USA (n = 40), with regression analysis showing high accuracy (R² = 0.97, RMSE = 2.20–2.23 cm). Bias analysis showed slight overestimation for small to medium trees (5–35 cm DBH) and underestimation for larger trees (>36 cm DBH), with an overall mean bias of +0.68 cm. Coupled with allometric equations, the DiameterAlgorithm enables scalable, site-level biomass estimation for carbon markets.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods樹木直径という植物形態形質を画像から推定する手法を開発し、複数地域のデータで精度・バイアスを検証しており、フェノタイピング手法が研究の中心である。

abstractThis study presents the DiameterAlgorithm, a non-contact method for tree diameter estimation using semantic segmentation and two-dimensional photogrammetry.

3-dimensional surface geometry, optical properties dataset of Scots pine and Norway spruce shoots. →

Conifer shoots possess highly complex geometrical structures at a very fine spatial resolution. Accurately characterizing the full architecture of a conifer shoot, which influences how radiation is scattered, has proven challenging. Previous radiative transfer models for coniferous stands have represented these structures in a relatively simplified or coarse manner. This paper presents a dataset that can be used for up-scaling of needle to shoot optical properties and studying the influence of detailed three-dimensional (3D) structure of shoot to light scattering within tree crown. The dataset includes 3D structural information as well optical properties of needles and twigs for 27 shoots of two conifer species present in both locations (3 shoots per species and position in the crown) - Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce ( Picea abies L. Karst. ). The samples were collected on 22nd April 2024 in Rájec, the Czech Republic and 17th September 2024 in Järvselja, Estonia. Subsequently blue light 3D photogrammetry scanning technique was used to obtain their high-resolution 3D point cloud representations. Reflectance and transmittance measurements of needles were obtained using a spectroradiometer and an integrating sphere. For each of these samples, the dataset comprises a photo of the sampled shoot, obtained 3D surface reconstruction, and optical properties of conifer needles and twigs (hemispherical-conical reflectance and transmittance factors) in the spectral range of 400-2000 nm. A detailed 3D representation of needle shoots, when combined with radiative transfer modeling, may offer a means to study and compensate for inaccuracies in the measurement of needle optical properties and to enhance the assessment of shoot scattering characteristics.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods針葉樹シュートの3D構造をフォトグラメトリで取得し、光学特性とともに再利用可能なデータセットとして提供しているため、植物形態・構造の計測手法が中心です。

abstractThis paper presents a dataset that can be used for up-scaling of needle to shoot optical properties and studying the influence of detailed three-dimensional (3D) structure of shoot to light scattering within tree crown.

A 0.6-meter resolution canopy height and structure model for the contiguous United States →

Above-ground vertical structure is a critical variable for ecosystem monitoring, carbon accounting, and land management. However, the high cost and limited coverage of airborne lidar hinder its widespread application. To address this, we developed NAIP-CHM, a 0.6-meter resolution canopy height and structure model (CHM) covering the contiguous United States, derived from National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) aerial imagery. Unlike forestry-specific models that exclude human-made features, NAIP-CHM characterizes the full vertical structure of the landscape including vegetation, buildings, and infrastructure. We utilized a U-Net convolutional neural network with attention mechanisms and environmental conditioning, training and validating the model with a peer-reviewed, publicly available dataset of 22.8 million co-registered NAIP imagery and lidar-derived CHM pairs, with stratified sampling to ensure robustness in open-canopy ecosystems. The model achieved a pixel-wise root mean square error (RMSE) of 2.28 meters and an r2 of 0.87. Forested sites alone produced an r2 of 0.82 and RMSE of 3.82 meters. We provide the dataset, source code, and cloud-based tools to enable broad application without requiring specialized computational resources.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植生を含む景観の樹冠高・構造を航空画像から推定するモデルを開発し、公開データセットで検証している。植物キャノピーの明示的な構造形質推定が中心だが、建造物等も含むため植物以外の構造も対象とする点には留意が必要。

abstractwe developed NAIP-CHM, a 0.6-meter resolution canopy height and structure model (CHM) covering the contiguous United States, derived from National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) aerial imagery.

MaizeField3D: A curated 3D point cloud and procedural model dataset of field-grown maize from a diversity panel. →

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) based tools for 3D phenotyping, especially for maize, has been limited due to the lack of large and diverse 3D datasets. 2D image datasets fail to capture essential structural details such as leaf architecture, plant volume, and spatial arrangements that 3D data provide. To address this limitation, we present MaizeField3D (website), a curated dataset of 3D point clouds of field-grown maize plants from a diverse genetic panel, designed to be AI-ready for advancing agricultural research. Our dataset includes 1045 high-quality point clouds of field-grown maize collected using a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS). Point clouds of 520 plants from this dataset were segmented and annotated using a graph-based segmentation method to isolate individual leaves and stalks, ensuring consistent labeling across all samples. This labeled data was then used for fitting procedural models that provide a structured parametric representation of the maize plants. The leaves of the maize plants in the procedural models are represented using Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) surfaces that were generated using a two-step optimization process combining gradient-free and gradient-based methods. We conducted rigorous manual quality control on all datasets, correcting errors in segmentation, ensuring accurate leaf ordering, and validating metadata annotations. The dataset also includes metadata detailing plant morphology and quality, alongside multi-resolution subsampled point cloud data (100k, 50k, 10k points), which can be readily used for different downstream computational tasks. MaizeField3D will serve as a comprehensive foundational dataset for AI-driven phenotyping, plant structural analysis, and 3D applications in agricultural research.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3D点群の収集・分割・注釈・手続き型モデル化を中核とする、植物表現型解析向けの再利用可能なデータセットである。

abstractwe present MaizeField3D (website), a curated dataset of 3D point clouds of field-grown maize plants from a diverse genetic panel, designed to be AI-ready for advancing agricultural research.

Automated 3D Phenotyping of Maize Plants: Stereo Matching Guided by Deep Learning →

Automated three-dimensional plant phenotyping is an essential tool for non-destructive analysis of plant growth and structure. This paper presents a low-cost system based on stereo vision for depth estimation and morphological characterization of maize plants. The system incorporates an automatic detection stage for the object of interest using deep learning techniques to delimit the region of interest (ROI) corresponding to the plant. The Semi-Global Block Matching (SGBM) algorithm is applied to the detected region to compute the disparity map and generate a partial three-dimensional representation of the plant structure. The ROI delimitation restricts the disparity calculation to the plant area, reducing processing of the background and optimizing computational resource use. The deep learning-based detection stage maintains stable foliage identification even under varying lighting conditions and shadowing, ensuring consistent depth data across different experimental conditions. Overall, the proposed system integrates detection and disparity estimation into an efficient processing flow, providing an accessible alternative for automated three-dimensional phenotyping in agricultural environments.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物の3次元形態を取得・特徴づけるステレオビジョンと深度推定システムの開発が中心であり、明確な植物フェノタイピング手法です。

abstractThis paper presents a low-cost system based on stereo vision for depth estimation and morphological characterization of maize plants.

Maps of forest vertical structure for Colombia, a megadiverse country. →

Vegetation vertical structure refers to the 3D distribution of vegetation aboveground biomass. Vegetation vertical structure of tropical forests influences other ecological and environmental variables that are essential for the functioning of the ecosystems. Integrating over 5.9 million Globel Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) footprints, multispectral, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, we built five national maps at 25 m resolution of five forest structural metrics for Colombia, South America, for the year 2020. We mapped canopy height, the height of half the cumulative returned energy from GEDI (RH50), total canopy cover, foliage height diversity, and total plant area index. The resulting maps tended to have the highest errors in the Amazon and Andean regions. Total cover had the highest relative error. Interrelationship curves between forest structural metrics of GEDI footprints are maintained across mapped metrics, indicating that the predictive models preserve structural relationships observed in GEDI data. Due to the medium-high spatial resolution and national coverage of the forest structural maps presented in this work, these maps will be useful for evaluating and mapping other ecological variables and conservation priorities in Colombia.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsGEDI LiDAR・マルチスペクトル・SARを統合し、森林キャノピー高、被覆率、葉群高多様性、植物面積指数などの植物構造形質を全国規模で推定・検証することが中心であり、単なる生態学的応用ではない。

abstractIntegrating over 5.9 million Globel Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) footprints, multispectral, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, we built five national maps at 25 m resolution of five forest structural metrics for Colombia, South America, for the year 2020.

Plant Face: Machine learning decodes genetic, environmental and developmental imprints in leaf appearance →

Abstract Leaf appearance is a crucial plant phenotype. However, traditional methods for extracting this information are inefficient, limiting its full utilization. Deep learning based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) enables us to capture previously inaccessible information from images. In this study, we made the surprising discovery that the leaf appearance of each individual plant is unique. Using deep learning, leaves from one plant could be efficiently distinguished from those of another plant of the same species and cultivar. We term this phenomenon the “ Plant Face ” and suggest the potential to develop a “plant face recognition system,” analogous to human facial recognition. We also applied similar methods to study the relationship between leaflet appearance and their position on compound leaves, leaf bilateral symmetry, and differences in leaves from twining stems with different chirality. These results collectively indicate that plant genetic characteristics, growth conditions, and developmental features can be stored within their appearance. With appropriate decoding, leaf appearance is poised to play an increasingly important role in phenomics. Significance The saying “no two leaves in the world are identical” holds philosophical significance, as such variation encompasses considerable contingency and randomness. Here, we assert that no two trees have identical leaves ; meaning that even for plants of the same species and cultivar, the leaf morphology of each individual plant is distinct at the population level, even though single leaves may overlap in appearance. Genetic, environmental, and developmental information is recorded in some manner within the phenotypic appearance of leaves. With advancements in computational technologies like artificial intelligence, this information can now be decoded. Highlights The leaves of each individual plant are statistically unique. The relationship between leaflet appearances in compound leaves hints at their developmental patterns. Leaves are not necessarily bilaterally symmetric in a statistical sense. Leaves from stems with different chirality (twining direction) exhibit distinct appearances.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods葉画像から植物の個体差や形態情報を深層学習で抽出・識別する手法が研究の中心であり、植物フェノタイピングへの応用を明示している。

abstractLeaf appearance is a crucial plant phenotype. However, traditional methods for extracting this information are inefficient

A novel high‐throughput digital morphological phenotyping method for evaluating growth traits in rice →

Abstract High‐throughput and noninvasive phenotyping methods are promising technology for improving efficiency in plant research and breeding. In this study, we evaluated the performance of a digital phenotyping system (DPS) based on three‐dimensional (3D) model reconstruction for quantifying key growth traits in rice ( Oryza sativa ). The DPS was used to estimate plant height, biomass, color, leaf morphology, and tiller angle in four rice varieties (Koshihikari, Nipponbare, PL9, and Tachiaoba). The results show high accuracy and correlation between manually measured and DPS‐derived traits. Notably, the 3D volume analysis can quantify biomass accumulation and growth dynamics and revealed distinct differences among varieties. The strong correlation between the green‐red normalized difference index (a red‐green‐blue‐based index) and soil plant analysis development also demonstrated the viability of the system in monitoring leaf color without using a multispectral instrument. The analysis also captured growth patterns over time, including canopy development and senescence, which are often challenging to quantify through manual measurements alone. Furthermore, the tiller angle estimation derived from DPS provided an alternative method to plant architecture evaluation, demonstrating its potential for use in breeding programs aimed to optimize canopy structure. These findings establish DPS as a reliable and scalable tool for a digital phenotyping platform that enables comprehensive trait analysis with reduced labor and increased precision and the capability to continuously monitor plant growth and biomass accumulation. This study shows the potential of this novel digital tool for automating manual measurements, which can increase efficiency and expedite research and breeding in rice and other crops.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3Dモデル再構築に基づくデジタル表現型解析システムを開発・評価し、イネの複数形質を手測定と比較検証しているため、方法が研究の中心です。

abstractwe evaluated the performance of a digital phenotyping system (DPS) based on three‐dimensional (3D) model reconstruction for quantifying key growth traits in rice

High-throughput plant phenotyping identifies and discriminates biotic and abiotic stresses in tomato →

In the context of precision agriculture, high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) aims to rapidly and effectively identify factors that affect crop yield, enabling timely and appropriate interventions. However, interpreting data from HTP remains challenging. We performed a proximal red-green-blue (RGB)-based HTP on several tomato genotypes exposed to abiotic stress (drought) or biotic stress induced by tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), Pseudopyrenochaeta lycopersici (corky root rot; CRR), or Meloidogyne incognita (root-knot nematode; RKN). We aimed to determine if RGB-based HTP is effectively able to: a) distinguish the effects of biotic from abiotic stress; b) differentiate resistant/tolerant from susceptible genotypes. Our HTP data analysis produced 12 morphometric and eight colorimetric indices. Principal Component Analysis (PCA; P ​< ​0.0001; 83 ​% variation explained by three PCs) showed that factors such as shoot area solidity and certain color-based indices, including the senescence index and green area, effectively differentiated biotic from abiotic stress. Morphometric parameters, including plant height, projected shoot area, and convex hull area, proved to be applicable for identifying the stress status regardless of the type of stress. HTP effectively distinguished the genotype resistant to TSWV from the susceptible ones. This task was more challenging for below-ground stresses like CRR and RKN. Different profiles of HTP indices were observed among the genotypes assayed for drought tolerance, indicating variability in their ability to withstand drought conditions. In conclusion, our findings highlight the value of RGB-based HTP as a tool for precision farming of tomatoes, enabling the identification of both biotic and abiotic stressors.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsトマトのRGBベース高スループット表現型解析を用い、形態・色彩指標の抽出と、ストレス識別および遺伝子型判別への有効性を評価しており、フェノタイピング手法が研究の中心である。

abstractWe performed a proximal red-green-blue (RGB)-based HTP on several tomato genotypes exposed to abiotic stress (drought) or biotic stress induced by tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), Pseudopyrenochaeta lycopersici (corky root rot; CRR), or Meloidogyne incognita (root-knot nematode; RKN).

Engineered glycoside hydrolases as fluorescent probes reveal the spatial distribution of the pectic polysaccharide rhamnogalacturonan II in plant cell walls →

Abstract Plant cell walls are dynamic composites whose architecture determines growth, mechanics, and environmental resilience. Efforts to link pectin structure to function have been limited by the lack of molecular probes with sufficient specificity, a gap that becomes even more pronounced for the intricately branched rhamnogalacturonon-II (RG-II) subclass. Here we report the first fluorescent probes with defined specificity to RG-II, engineered from catalytic site mutants of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron glycoside hydrolases BT1010 and BT0996. These enzyme-derived probes bind RG-II monomer with high affinity, discriminate against dimeric forms, and localize to cell corners and junctions in Arabidopsis thaliana stems, consistent with RG-II’s unique ability among wall polysaccharides to form borate-mediated, covalent crosslinkages between molecules. Application of these probes revealed spatial partitioning distinct from the homogalacturonan (HG)- and rhamnogalacturonan I (RG-I)-enriched middle lamella, highlighting functional specialization among pectic domains, with RG-II reinforcing cell junctions while HG and RG-I mediate wall flexibility. Our work establishes a generalizable framework for transforming CAZymes into high-precision imaging reagents, enabling molecular-level visualization of structurally complex polysaccharides in the cell wall.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsRG-IIを特異的に可視化する蛍光プローブを開発し、植物細胞壁内の空間分布という植物状態を画像で測定する手法を示しているため、フェノタイピング手法が中心的です。

abstractHere we report the first fluorescent probes with defined specificity to RG-II

Structural parameter determination and pruning pattern analysis of pear tree shoots for dormant pruning. →

The comprehensive understanding of the dormant pruning patterns in pear trees, along with the accurate identification of shoots suitable for pruning, is essential for implementing automated pruning and fruit production. Due to the complexity of tree architecture, previous descriptions of pruning strategies were qualitative summaries based on experience. In this study, we proposed a high-precision shoot extraction pipeline through point cloud alignment at different times, enabling a quantitative analysis of the pruning patterns. The structural parameters of 126 full bearing period pear trees, encompassing two cultivars and three architectures, were characterized, including the shoot number, single shoot angle and length, as well as shoot length density. The validation results demonstrated that the method attained an R 2 of 0.82, 0.92, and 0.85 for shoot number, single shoot angle and length, respectively, with mean absolute error of 18.72, 6.08°, and 0.13 ​m. The findings indicate that tree architecture exerts a greater influence on pruning compared to cultivar, particularly in Cuiguan, where significant differences were observed across diverse tree architectures. The characters of the corresponding annual (one-year-old) shoots (AS) and pruned shoots (PS) exhibit similar distribution. The AS, constituted 78.62% of the PS number, and 94.90% of length of AS were pruned, indicating that dormant pruning in full bearing period pear tree primarily targets at the annual shoots, and the pruning of annual shoots is mainly by thinning. This study could help the automatic pruning system make pruning decisions and promotes the development of fine orchard management.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsナシ樹のシュート形態を点群アライメントで抽出・定量化する手法を開発し、精度検証まで行っており、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心です。

abstractwe proposed a high-precision shoot extraction pipeline through point cloud alignment at different times, enabling a quantitative analysis of the pruning patterns.

UAV‐based high‐throughput phenotyping for crop growth analysis and seed yield prediction in a nested association mapping population of lentils →

Abstract Unoccupied aerial vehicle (UAV)‐based high‐throughput phenotyping provides scalable and cost‐effective access to phenotypic information for crop improvement, yet its application in minor crops such as lentil ( Lens culinaris Medik.) remains limited. This study applied UAV‐derived canopy traits and crop growth regression modeling to a nested association mapping population developed from CDC Redberry crossed with 32 diverse founder lines. UAV imagery collected across four site‐years was used to capture canopy height, crop area, and crop volume per plot basis at multiple time points. Crop growth regression models were fitted to derive crop growth parameters, maximum canopy size, growth rate, and cumulative growth anchored to phenological stages. These static and time‐series traits were evaluated for seed yield prediction using partial least squares regression with a 70:20:10 data split and 10‐fold cross‐validation. Static traits such as maximum crop volume and maximum crop area were consistently associated with yield. Dynamic trait‐based models improved prediction accuracy and identified the swollen pod stage (R5–R6) as the most informative forecasting window. External validation using an independent trial confirmed the generalizability of the approach. This study presents a UAV phenotyping framework that supports crop growth dissection and early yield prediction and downstream trait discovery in lentil.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsUAV画像から作物の形態・成長形質を抽出し、時系列成長モデルと収量予測を検証するフレームワークが研究の中心であるため。

abstractUAV imagery collected across four site‐years was used to capture canopy height, crop area, and crop volume per plot basis at multiple time points.

Aerial imagery and Segment Anything Model for architectural trait phenotyping to support genetic analysis in peanut breeding. →

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are reliable tools for field phenotyping, enabling rapid, large-scale, and cost-effective data collection to support breeding programs. However, many UAS-based approaches rely on manual data processing, limiting scalability and efficiency. This study presents a fully automated pipeline for high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) of peanut crop architectural traits, including canopy height (CH), growth habit (GH), and mainstem prominence (MP) by integrating UAS imagery, a vision foundation model-Segment Anything Model (SAM), and convolutional neural networks (CNN). SAM auto-mask generator mode was used to identify field extent and orientation, while SAM interactive mode enabled individual plot segmentation using auto-generated point prompts. Terrain points automatically sampled near each plot were used to model the ground surface and compute the canopy height model, allowing CH estimations at the plot level. CH estimations showed strong agreement with manual measurements (R² ​= ​0.78, RMSE ​= ​3 ​cm, MAPE ​= ​10 ​%). For MP and GH estimation, three pre-trained CNN models (AlexNet, ResNet18, and EfficientNet-B0) were evaluated, with AlexNet achieving the highest accuracy (89 ​% for GH, 83 ​% for MP). To assess the feasibility of using these HTP-derived estimations in plant breeding, quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis was performed, identifying major-effect loci associated with these traits. The results were consistent with conventional QTL mapping methods, demonstrating that UAS-based phenotyping provides reliable trait data for genetic studies in peanut breeding. Overall, our deep learning-based data processing workflow minimizes manual efforts, providing an efficient and scalable approach that can accelerate genetic studies and trait selection in large-scale breeding programs.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsUAS画像、SAM、CNNを統合したピーナッツの草冠高・生育型・主茎優勢度の自動推定パイプラインを開発・検証しており、表現型取得と抽出手法が研究の中心である。

abstractThis study presents a fully automated pipeline for high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) of peanut crop architectural traits, including canopy height (CH), growth habit (GH), and mainstem prominence (MP) by integrating UAS imagery, a vision foundation model-Segment Anything Model (SAM), and convolutional neural networks (CNN).

AngleCam V2: Predicting leaf inclination angles across taxa from daytime and nighttime photos →

Understanding how plants capture light and maintain their energy balance is crucial for predicting how ecosystems respond to environmental changes. By monitoring leaf inclination angle distributions (LIADs), we can gain insights into plant behaviour that directly influences ecosystem functioning. LIADs affect radiative transfer processes and reflectance signals, which are essential components of satellite-based vegetation monitoring. Despite their importance, scalable methods for continuously observing these dynamics across different plant species throughout day-night cycles are limited. We present AngleCam V2, a deep learning model that estimates LIADs from both RGB and near-infrared (NIR) night-vision imagery. We compiled a dataset of over 4,500 images across 200 globally distributed species to facilitate generalization across taxa. Moreover, we developed a method to simulate pseudo-NIR imagery from RGB imagery to enable an efficient training of a deep learning model for tracking LIADs across day and night. The model is based on a vision transformer architecture with mixed-modality training using the RGB and the synthetic NIR images. AngleCam V2 achieved substantial improvements in generalization compared to AngleCam V1 (R 2 = 0.62 vs 0.12 on the same holdout dataset). Phylogenetic analysis across 100 genera revealed no systematic taxonomic bias in prediction errors. Testing against leaf angle dynamics obtained from multitemporal terrestrial laser scanning demonstrated the reliable tracking of diurnal leaf movements (R 2 = 0.61-0.75) and the successful detection of water limitation-induced changes over a 14-day monitoring period. This method enables continuous monitoring of leaf angle dynamics using conventional cameras, enabling applications in ecosystem monitoring networks, plant stress detection, interpreting satellite vegetation signals, and citizen science platforms for global-scale understanding of plant structural responses.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods葉の傾斜角分布という植物形質を画像から推定する深層学習手法を開発し、大規模データセット、既存モデル比較、レーザースキャンによる検証、水ストレス下での追跡評価まで実施しており、フェノタイピング手法が研究の中心です。

abstractWe present AngleCam V2, a deep learning model that estimates LIADs from both RGB and near-infrared (NIR) night-vision imagery.

A surface morphology-based inference method for the cell wall elasticity profile in tip-growing cells →

Plant development and adaptation are highly dependent on cell morphology and growth. High turgor pressure in plants causes stress on the cell wall, followed by cell extension. In tip-growing cells, the localization of vesicles and cytoskeleton components has been well studied. However, there has been a lack of attention to the spatial profile of mechanical properties, specifically the cell wall elasticity. In this study, we introduce a new surface morphology-based method to measure the elasticity of the cell wall in tip-growing cells. Previous work is based on measurements from the wall meridional outline, a technique that cannot track the elastic deformation of the cell wall experimentally. Instead, we developed a way to infer the bulk modulus distribution from the cell surface by triangulating experimental marker points coming from fluorescent labeling. To justify the use of our protocol in tip-growing cells from the moss Physcomitrium patens , we replicated the experimental noise and moss morphology in simulated cells. In practice, we found that a larger triangulation improved robustness against noise, which agreed with our theoretical study. With multiple cell sampling, we determined that 10 cells were sufficient to recover the elasticity distribution with noise, but only when the elastic stretches were high enough. We then created a dimensionless map of inference error to verify a spatial change of P. patens bulk modulus within two folds. This technique will open the field to more comprehensive measurements of cell wall elasticity, providing a key step in understanding tip cell growth and morphogenesis. Author summary Tip-growing cells can be characterized by their fast growth concentrated at the cell’s apex. Their growth and morphogenesis are tightly regulated processes involving cell wall addition and rearrangement while the cell wall is under stress originating from the cell’s internal turgor pressure. We start by studying the cell wall’s elastic properties, one aspect of the cell growth process. We use a method of marker point tracking across the surface of the tip-growing cell to measure the wall’s elasticity profile. In this work, we present a parameter sensitivity study of this method on synthetic cells and report our results on experimental moss tip-growing cells. Our results suggest that this inference method can reliably measure a cell wall elasticity gradient under combined geometric and mechanical conditions that create elastic strains within 5% at the tip.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsコケの先端成長細胞における細胞壁弾性分布を、蛍光マーカーと表面形態から推定する新規測定法を開発し、シミュレーションおよび実細胞で検証しているため、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractIn this study, we introduce a new surface morphology-based method to measure the elasticity of the cell wall in tip-growing cells.

Enhancing forest inventory via a videogrammetry approach for robust 3D reconstruction: A study using Insta 360 Pro 2 →

In this study, we explore the application of videogrammetry for 3D reconstruction in complex forest environments, aiming to enhance forest inventory measurement methods. Traditional techniques are often labor-intensive and lack scalability in dense or challenging terrain. We assess the efficacy of videogrammetry for generating 3D point clouds in complex forest environments, focusing on an Insta 360 Pro 2 setup with six fish-eye cameras. Harnessing this lightweight and user-friendly technology, we aim to elevate the process of data collection while delivering realistic visual representations of forest areas. Our approach enables the estimation of key forest characteristics, such as tree distribution and Diameter at Breast Height (DBH). The average errors for tree position and DBH measurements range from 5.2 cm to 18.8 cm and from 0.9 cm to 1.9 cm, respectively. The reconstructed 3D tree information is structurally similar to data obtained with Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS), with normally distributed Multiscale Model-to-Model Cloud Comparison (M3C2) errors with a mean of 0 cm and a standard deviation of 15 cm to 22 cm. Our method reduces the need for manual data collection, thus supporting effective forest management and planning.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods森林内の樹木形態（樹木位置・胸高直径）を videogrammetry で推定する手法を開発し、TLS と比較検証しており、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractWe assess the efficacy of videogrammetry for generating 3D point clouds in complex forest environments

Spatially resolved analysis of growth dynamics in pome and drupe fruits of Rosaceae using 3D Gaussian Splatting →

Fruit growth has long been described using single- or double-sigmoid curves; however, these temporal models cannot fully capture the spatial heterogeneity that ultimately shapes a fruit. Here, we present a three-dimensional analysis pipeline that non-destructively tracks spatial fruit growth dynamics from field-collected imaginary. Surface landmarks were drawn, and video recordings were taken throughout development for three pome fruits, apple ( Malus × domestica ), Japanese pear ( Pyrus pyrifolia ) and European pear ( Pyrus communis ), and two drupe fruits, peach ( Prunus persica ) and Japanese apricot ( Prunus mume ), to track their motion. Using 3D Gaussian Splatting, we successfully reconstructed 3D models of the fruits, and the landmark displacement could be measured with high accuracy, with R 2 ≥ 0.98 when compared to manual recordings. We found a common spatial growth gradient in the longitudinal growth shared in the pomes and drupes of the Rosaceae; proximal (stem-end) regions exhibited more pronounced growth than the distal (stylar) end. An exception was found in European pear ‘Bartlett,’ which showed relatively vigorous growth in the distal region, explaining its distinct shape with expanded distal end. Transverse expansion varied far less than longitudinal expansion, with a possible association with initial fruit morphology. Inter-fruit growth variability peaked in the fastest-growing regions, particularly in the distal area of the European pear, highlighting the link between growth vigor and phenotypic variance. These results provide foundational insights into the developmental dynamics of both pome and drupe fruits of the Rosaceae family, contributing to the optimization of fruit size, shape, and uniformity.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3D Gaussian Splattingを用いて果実の3D再構成と空間的成長形質の非破壊計測パイプラインを開発し、手動記録との精度比較で検証しているため、フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractHere, we present a three-dimensional analysis pipeline that non-destructively tracks spatial fruit growth dynamics

Dissecting lentil crop growth in contrasting environments using digital imaging and genome‐wide association studies →

Abstract The development of high‐throughput phenotyping platforms to capture time‐series data on large, diverse populations holds promise for crop researchers and breeders investigating growth‐related traits. We used imagery from unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs) with red/green/blue (RGB) and multispectral cameras flown over multiple site‐years in Saskatchewan, Canada, and Metaponto, Italy, to gather data for crop height, area, and volume in a lentil diversity panel (324 genotypes). The temporal nature of the UAV image‐derived data enabled the modeling of growth curves for volume, height, and area, something that would be impractical under traditional phenotyping procedures in such a large population grown in multiple environments. A principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering revealed differential growth patterns across contrasting environments, with large variations in temperature and photoperiod, within our lentil diversity panel. Combining this analysis with genome‐wide genotyping data, we identified markers, from an exome capture array (267,845 single nucleotide polymorphisms), associated with crop growth that could be used for marker‐assisted selection. Our study demonstrates the potential for UAV‐based imaging to obtain large‐scale time‐series data across multiple environments to model growth curves and investigate genotype‐by‐environment interactions. In addition, we can now use phenotypic traits that were once impractical to collect and derive novel phenotypes to improve our understanding of crop growth and the genetics underlying adaptation in lentil, approaches that will be useful for both researchers and breeders.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsUAV画像からレンティルの高さ・面積・体積を時系列推定し、大規模集団で成長曲線をモデル化するフェノタイピング手法の実質的な適用・評価が中心である。

abstractThe development of high‐throughput phenotyping platforms to capture time‐series data on large, diverse populations holds promise for crop researchers and breeders investigating growth‐related traits.

High-resolution three-dimensional mapping of eelgrass (Zostera marina) habitat and blue carbon using drone-borne LiDAR →

The accessibility of flying drones (Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles) presents scientists and managers with reproducible and cost-effective methods to monitor submerged aquatic vegetation. In particular, drone-borne topobathymetric LiDAR provides high-resolution (cm-scale), three-dimensional information about the geometry and structure of surveyed areas, allowing for quantification of vegetation volume in addition to bathymetry. For habitat-forming submerged and intertidal vegetation like seagrass, this information can advance research regarding the structure and patchiness of canopies in relation to biodiversity, blue carbon storage, and hydrodynamic processes. Here, we report how drone-borne LiDAR can be used to estimate the habitat volume of eelgrass (Zostera marina) within a sheltered bay in south-eastern Norway. After classifying LiDAR points using a Random Forest model, we created a Digital Terrain Model of the sea floor and a Digital Surface Model of the eelgrass canopy. From these models, we estimated eelgrass canopy volume to range between 862 and 1099 m3 across the small study area. From the volume, we estimated above-ground carbon storage in living eelgrass tissue to range between 96 and 122 kg. To our knowledge, this is the first study to utilise drone-borne LiDAR to quantify the volume and carbon-storage potential of a marine habitat-forming species like eelgrass, thereby demonstrating the potential of drone-borne LiDAR as an efficient tool to provide reproducible and high-resolution data for submerged aquatic habitats, including seagrass meadows.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsドローン搭載LiDARを用いて eelgrass のキャノピー体積という植物形態形質を推定する方法が研究の中心であり、分類、地形・表面モデル作成、再現可能な高解像度測定手法として記述されているため。

abstractHere, we report how drone-borne LiDAR can be used to estimate the habitat volume of eelgrass (Zostera marina) within a sheltered bay in south-eastern Norway.

The Tonoplast Topology Index - a new metric for describing vacuole organization →

Background The plant vacuole arises by orchestrated interplay of membrane trafficking, cytoskeletal rearrangements and a variety of signalling pathways. In the root, the characteristic large central vacuole develops by endomembrane reorganization occurring mainly in the transition zone. The vacuole’s bounding membrane - the tonoplast - can be visualized in vivo using fluorescent protein markers, allowing for quantitative analysis of confocal microscopy images. Tonoplast organization can thus serve as a sensitive indicator of changes to any of the processes involved in vacuole biogenesis. The Vacuolar Morphology Index (VMI) is widely accepted as a quantitative measure of vacuole structure. However, this metric has two drawbacks - it only reflects the size of the largest vacuolar compartment (missing therefore possible differences in the organization of smaller compartments), and its determination is labor intensive, limiting its use on large datasets. Results We developed an alternative metric for describing vacuole organization, named the Tonoplast Topology Index (TTI), which overcomes the above-mentioned shortcomings of the VMI. We compared the performance of our protocol with VMI on a simulated dataset and on real data. To validate the methods’ performance, we used it to confirm the previously reported differences in vacuole shape and size between Arabidopsis thaliana roots grown on the surface of an agar medium compared to those embedded inside the agar. Both VMI and TTI could efficiently detect the relatively subtle changes in vacuole organization depending on the position of the root in the agar, and provided correlated results. However, only TTI produced data with close to normal value distribution, simplifying subsequent statistical evaluation. Conclusions We present the protocol for TTI determination as a two-stage semi-automated procedure involving microscopic image analysis employing an ImageJ macro and subsequent processing of numeric data in the Jupyter Notebook environment, together with benchmarking image data. Since this implementation is freeware-based, platform-independent and (relatively) user-friendly, we hope it will find its use as a high throughput, added value alternative to the VMI metric.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物の液胞構造を定量化する新規指標と半自動画像解析プロトコルを開発し、既存指標との比較・実データおよびシミュレーションによる検証、ベンチマークデータを提示しており、表現型取得・抽出法が中心である。

abstractWe developed an alternative metric for describing vacuole organization, named the Tonoplast Topology Index (TTI), which overcomes the above-mentioned shortcomings of the VMI.

TomatoWUR: An annotated dataset of tomato plants to quantitatively evaluate segmentation, skeletonisation, and plant-trait extraction algorithms for 3D plant phenotyping →

Plant phenotyping involves the measurements of plant traits to gain more insight into the interaction between the genotype (G), environment (E) and crop management strategies (M). To improve plant phenotyping, accurate measurements are crucial. Manual measurements are biased, time-intensive, and therefore limited to only a few plants. Especially measurements of 3D phenotypic traits, such as plant architecture, internode length, and leaf area are difficult to extract manually. To enhance the speed and accuracy of phenotyping, there is a need for automatic digital plant phenotyping solutions. The presented dataset contains 3D point clouds of tomato plants, which will enable researchers to develop novel methods to extract 3D phenotypic traits. Converting 3D point clouds to plant traits is also known as 3D plant phenotyping. This process can be subdivided into three steps: point cloud segmentation, skeletonisation to extract plant architecture, and plant-traits extraction. Those three steps need to be analysed properly to indicate bottlenecks and improve 3D phenotyping algorithms. Currently, the development of 3D phenotyping algorithms is inhibited by the availability of comprehensive datasets and algorithms to analyse all steps. To our best knowledge only five annotated datasets exist for testing and validating 3D phenotyping algorithms. However, these datasets mainly focus on the segmentation step. Skeletonisation and manual measured plant traits are frequently not included. To improve 3D plant phenotyping, a novel dataset, TomatoWUR, is presented. This comprehensive dataset consists of 44 point clouds of single tomato plants imaged by fifteen cameras to create a point cloud using the shape-from-silhouette methodology. The dataset includes annotated point clouds, skeletons, and manual reference measurements. In addition, the dataset includes software for comprehensive evaluation and comparison of phenotyping methods, which is expected to benefit the development of 3D phenotyping algorithms. The related software can be found our GIT: https://github.com/WUR-ABE/TomatoWUR.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3D植物フェノタイピング用の注釈付きデータセットと評価ソフトウェアを提示し、セグメンテーション、骨格化、形質抽出アルゴリズムの開発・検証を直接支援するため、方法論が中心である。

abstractThe presented dataset contains 3D point clouds of tomato plants, which will enable researchers to develop novel methods to extract 3D phenotypic traits.

Time course measurements of leaf elevation angles during shade avoidance response in Arabidopsis thaliana using Raspberry Pi computers and computer vision technique. →

Shade avoidance response in plants includes a higher leaf elevation angle. A cost-effective and noninvasive high throughput image analysis technique was used to measure the dynamics of leaf elevation angles during shade avoidance response in Arabidopsis . Time-lapse images were taken from the top and the side of a plant using Raspberry Pi computers. The leaf elevation index for each plant is determined from the plant dimensions measured by an image analysis software package PlantCV . This method was used to monitor the dynamics of changing leaf elevation angles in wild-type plants and in shade avoidance mutants pif4-2pif5-3 and pif7-2 plants.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsRaspberry Piと画像解析を用いて葉の仰角を定量化する高スループット手法が研究の中心であり、植物形質の時系列取得に実質的に適用されている。

abstractA cost-effective and noninvasive high throughput image analysis technique was used to measure the dynamics of leaf elevation angles during shade avoidance response in Arabidopsis .

High-Resolution 3D Reconstruction of Individual Rice Tillers for Genetic Studies →

The architecture of rice tillers plays a pivotal role in yield potential, yet conventional phenotyping methods have struggled to capture these intricate three-dimensional (3D) structures with high fidelity. In this study, a 3D model reconstruction method was developed specifically for rice tillers to overcome the challenges posed by their slender, feature-poor morphology in multi-view stereo-based 3D reconstruction. By applying strategically designed colorful reference markers, high-resolution 3D tiller models of 231 rice landraces were reconstructed. Accurate phenotyping was achieved by introducing ScaleCalculator, a software tool that integrated depth images from a depth camera to calibrate the physical sizes of the 3D models. The high efficiency of the 3D model-based phenotyping pipeline was demonstrated by extracting the following seven key agronomic traits: flag leaf length, panicle length, first internode length below the panicle, stem length, flag leaf angle, second leaf angle from the panicle, and third leaf angle. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) performed with these 3D traits identified numerous candidate genes, nine of which had been previously confirmed in the literature. This work provides a 3D phenomics solution tailored for slender organs and offers novel insights into the genetic regulation of complex morphological traits in rice.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsイネ分げつの3D再構成とScaleCalculatorによるスケール校正を開発し、7つの形態形質を抽出するフェノタイピング手法が研究の中心であるため。

abstracta 3D model reconstruction method was developed specifically for rice tillers

RsegNet: An Advanced Methodology for Individual Rubber Tree Segmentation and Structural Parameter Extraction from UAV LiDAR Point Clouds. →

As an important tropical cash crop, rubber trees play a key role in the rubber industry and ecosystem. However, a significant challenge in precision agriculture and refined management of rubber plantation lies in the limitations of traditional point cloud segmentation methods, which struggle to accurately extract structural parameters and capture the spatial layout of individual rubber trees. Therefore, we propose an optimized dual-channel clustering method for the UAV LiDAR-based Rubber Tree Point Cloud Segmentation Network (RsegNet) for improved assessment of rubber tree architecture and traits. Firstly, we designed a cosine feature extraction network, termed CosineU-Net, to address the branch-and-leaf overlap problem by calculating the cosine similarity of the spatial and positional features of each point, leveraging deep learning approaches to improve feature representation. Secondly, we constructed a dual-channel clustering module reducing prediction error in rubber tree point cloud data, integrating multi-class association and background classification to tackle background interference. The cluster identification and separation accuracy in high-dimensional data processing is enhanced through a dynamic clustering optimization algorithm. In our self-built dataset and across five regions of the FOR-instance forest dataset, RsegNet achieved the best performance compared to five state-of-the-art networks, reaching an F-score of 86.1%. This method calculated structural attributes including height, crown diameter, and volume for rubber trees in three areas under different environments in Danzhou City, Hainan Province, providing robust support for precise monitoring, plantation management, and health assessment.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsUAV LiDAR点群の個体分割・構造形質抽出手法を開発し、精度比較と樹高・樹冠径・体積の算出まで行っており、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractwe propose an optimized dual-channel clustering method for the UAV LiDAR-based Rubber Tree Point Cloud Segmentation Network (RsegNet) for improved assessment of rubber tree architecture and traits.

Masks-to-Skeleton: Multi-View Mask-Based Tree Skeleton Extraction with 3D Gaussian Splatting. →

Accurately reconstructing tree skeletons from multi-view images is challenging. While most existing works use skeletonization from 3D point clouds, thin branches with low-texture contrast often involve multi-view stereo (MVS) to produce noisy and fragmented point clouds, which break branch connectivity. Leveraging the recent development in accurate mask extraction from images, we introduce a mask-guided graph optimization framework that estimates a 3D skeleton directly from multi-view segmentation masks, bypassing the reliance on point cloud quality. In our method, a skeleton is modeled as a graph whose nodes store positions and radii while its adjacency matrix encodes branch connectivity. We use 3D Gaussian splatting (3DGS) to render silhouettes of the graph and directly optimize the nodes and the adjacency matrix to fit given multi-view silhouettes in a differentiable manner. Furthermore, we use a minimum spanning tree (MST) algorithm during the optimization loop to regularize the graph to a tree structure. Experiments on synthetic and real-world plants show consistent improvements in completeness and structural accuracy over existing point-cloud-based and heuristic baseline methods.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物のマルチビュー画像から樹木の3D骨格・枝構造を推定する計算手法を開発し、実植物で既存法と比較検証しているため、植物形態フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractwe introduce a mask-guided graph optimization framework that estimates a 3D skeleton directly from multi-view segmentation masks

Three-dimentional reconstruction of complex, dynamic population canopy architecture for crops with a novel point cloud completion model: A case study in Brassica napus rapeseed →

Quantitative descriptions of the complete canopy architecture are essential for accurately evaluating crop photosynthesis and yield performance to guide ideotype design. Although various sensing technologies have been developed for three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of individual plants and canopies, they failed to obtain an accurate description of canopy architectures due to severe occlusion among complex canopy architectures. We proposed an effective method for 3D reconstruction of complex, dynamic population canopy architecture for rapeseed crops with a novel point cloud completion model. A complete point cloud generation framework was developed for automated annotation of the training dataset by distinguishing surface points from occluded points within canopies. The crop population point cloud completion network (CP-PCN) was then designed with a multi-resolution dynamic graph convolutional encoder (MRDG) and a point pyramid decoder (PPD) to predict occluded points. To further enhance feature extraction, a dynamic graph convolutional feature extractor (DGCFE) module was proposed to capture structural variations over the whole rapeseed growth period. The results demonstrated that CP-PCN achieved chamfer distance (CD) values of 3.35 cm -4.51 cm over four growth stages, outperforming the state-of-the-art transformer-based method (PoinTr). Ablation studies confirmed the effectiveness of the MRDG and DGCFE modules. Moreover, the validation experiment demonstrated that the silique efficiency index developed from CP-PCN improved the overall accuracy of rapeseed yield prediction by 11.2% compared to that of using incomplete point clouds. The CP-PCN pipeline has the potential to be extended to other crops, significantly advancing the quantitatively analysis of in-field population canopy architectures.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods作物群落キャノピーの3D形態を復元する点群補完法を開発し、既存法との比較、アブレーション、収量予測への有効性検証まで行っており、植物フェノタイピング手法が研究の中心である。

abstractWe proposed an effective method for 3D reconstruction of complex, dynamic population canopy architecture for rapeseed crops with a novel point cloud completion model.

Chiral hierarchies at the nanoscale revealed by three-dimensional scanning electron diffraction →

Natural biocomposites such as wood and plant cell walls exhibit remarkable mechanical properties largely attributed to their nanoscale chiral organization of fibrous components, such as cellulose. However, resolving the three-dimensional (3D) arrangement of these structures at the nanoscale remains a significant challenge, particularly in beam-sensitive materials. This study introduces a method for 3D reconstruction of orientation based on scanning electron diffraction (SED), enabling the quantitative mapping of chiral supramolecular organization with sub-100 nm spatial resolution. By acquiring low-dose SED data at multiple tilt angles and applying a symmetry-based reconstruction algorithm, we resolved the 3D orientation of cellulose fibrils in native oat husk and birch wood. Our results reveal a multilayered cell wall architecture with alternating helical handedness, providing precise measurements of 3D fibril orientation. This method reveals complex hierarchical structures at the nanoscale, enabling rapid data acquisition and analysis using widely available instrumentation. The ability to resolve such chiral organization opens new understanding of materials properties as well as opportunities for the design of bio-inspired materials with tunable mechanical and functional properties.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物細胞壁中のセルロース fibril の3D配向を定量マッピングする画像計測・再構成法が研究の中心であり、植物構造形質の取得手法を開発している。

abstractThis study introduces a method for 3D reconstruction of orientation based on scanning electron diffraction (SED), enabling the quantitative mapping of chiral supramolecular organization with sub-100 nm spatial resolution.

OpenPheno: an open-access, user-friendly, and smartphone-based software platform for instant plant phenotyping. →

BACKGROUND: Plant phenotyping has become increasingly important for advancing plant science, agriculture, and biotechnology. Classic manual methods are labor-intensive and time-consuming, while existing computational tools often require advanced coding skills, high-performance hardware, or PC-based environments, making them inaccessible to non-experts, to resource-constrained users, and to field technicians. RESULTS: To respond to these challenges, we introduce OpenPheno, an open-access, user-friendly, and smartphone-based platform encapsulated within a WeChat Mini-Program for instant plant phenotyping. The platform is designed for ease of use, enabling users to phenotype plant traits quickly and efficiently with only a smartphone at hand. We currently instantiate the use of the platform with tools such as SeedPheno, WheatHeadPheno, LeafAnglePheno, SpikeletPheno, CanopyPheno, TomatoPheno, and CornPheno; each offering specific functionalities such as seed size and count analysis, wheat head detection, leaf angle measurement, spikelet counting, canopy structure analysis, and tomato fruit measurement. In particular, OpenPheno allows developers to contribute new algorithmic tools, further expanding its capabilities to continuously facilitate the plant phenotyping community. CONCLUSIONS: By leveraging cloud computing and a widely accessible interface, OpenPheno democratizes plant phenotyping, making advanced tools available to a broader audience, including plant scientists, breeders, and even amateurs. It can function as a role in AI-driven breeding by providing the necessary data for genotype-phenotype analysis, thereby accelerating breeding programs. Its integration with smartphones also positions OpenPheno as a powerful tool in the growing field of mobile-based agricultural technologies, paving the way for more efficient, scalable, and accessible agricultural research and breeding.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsスマートフォンで植物形質を取得・解析するソフトウェアプラットフォームの開発が中心であり、複数の具体的な表現型解析ツールを提供している。

abstractwe introduce OpenPheno, an open-access, user-friendly, and smartphone-based platform encapsulated within a WeChat Mini-Program for instant plant phenotyping.

Collectomics in plant biodiversity research - looking into the past to understand the present and shape the future →

Global biodiversity is changing at unprecedented rates during the Anthropocene. Whereas current biodiversity patterns can be observed directly, information from the recent past is far less easily retrieved yet urgently needed to understand present observations and predict future developments. For plants, herbaria offer such a unique glimpse into the past. Evaluation of plant specimens allows determining a wide range of attributes like species identity, morphological and phenological traits and even signs of biotic interactions. Specimen’s labels convey data such as species identity (and identification history), date and locality of collection, as well as the surrounding biotic and abiotic environment. Current methodological developments in sensor technology and computer vision increasingly enable us to extract this information in a high throughput and automated way. Equally vast developments in data science allow to integrate data from other sources for much more comprehensive analyses than before. With millions of specimens already digitized and digitization schemes running in many institutions, we will be increasingly able to determine characteristics of species and link them via distribution records to large-scale climate change scenarios. This allows us to better predict species’ threat levels, and to develop scenarios on the consequences of biodiversity change for ecosystem functioning. The present contribution reviews recent herbaria research and describes potential avenues with respect to Museomics and the Extended Specimen concept, and we propose Collectomics as a new framework to unravel, understand, and cope with the Anthropocene biodiversity change.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物標本から形態・季節形質をセンサー技術とコンピュータビジョンで高スループット抽出する方法を扱うレビューであり、植物形質取得手法が実質的に含まれる。

abstractEvaluation of plant specimens allows determining a wide range of attributes like species identity, morphological and phenological traits and even signs of biotic interactions.

Mapping of cotton bolls and branches with high-granularity through point cloud segmentation. →

High resolution three-dimensional (3D) point clouds enable the mapping of cotton boll spatial distribution, aiding breeders in better understanding the correlation between boll positions on branches and overall yield and fiber quality. This study developed a segmentation workflow for point clouds of 18 cotton genotypes to map the spatial distribution of bolls on the plants. The data processing workflow includes two independent approaches to map the vertical and horizontal distribution of cotton bolls. The vertical distribution was mapped by segmenting bolls using PointNet++ and identifying individual instances through Euclidean clustering. For horizontal distribution, TreeQSM segmented the plant into the main stem and individual branches. PointNet++ and Euclidean clustering were then used to achieve cotton boll instance segmentation. The horizontal distribution was determined by calculating the Euclidean distance of each cotton boll relative to the main stem. Additionally, branch types were classified using point cloud meshing completion and the Dijkstra shortest path algorithm. The results highlight that the accuracy and mean intersection over union (mIoU) of the 2-class segmentation based on PointNet++ reached 0.954 and 0.896 on the whole plant dataset, and 0.968 and 0.897 on the branch dataset, respectively. The coefficient of determination (R 2 ) for the boll counting was 0.99 with a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 5.4. For the first time, this study accomplished high-granularity spatial mapping of cotton bolls and branches, but directly predicting fiber quality from 3D point clouds remains a challenge. This method provides a promising tool for 3D cotton plant mapping of different genotypes, which potentially could accelerate plant physiological studies and breeding programs.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3D点群の分割・個体抽出ワークフローを開発し、綿花の果実数と枝・果実の空間分布という植物形質を定量化・検証しており、フェノタイピング手法が研究の中心である。

abstractThis study developed a segmentation workflow for point clouds of 18 cotton genotypes to map the spatial distribution of bolls on the plants.

Point Cloud Completion of Occluded Corn with a 3D Positional Gated Multilayer Perceptron and Prior Shape Encoder →

To obtain the complete shape and pose of corn under occlusion, this study proposes a point cloud completion algorithm for completing the fragmented corn point cloud after segmentation. Considering that this work focuses on a single-class crop—corn—the proposals mainly focus on the deep learning model size and the completion of the overall shape of the corn. In this work, the 3D corn models derived from segmentation are employed to systematically output the fragmented point cloud data in batches. The Shape Coding PointAttN (SCPAN) algorithm is also proposed, which is based on PointAttN. The model’s structure is simplified to output sparse point clouds and minimize computational complexity, and a gated multilayer perceptron (MLP) containing 3D position coding is introduced to enhance the model’s spatial awareness. In addition, the prior shape encoder module is initially trained and subsequently integrated into the model to enhance its focus on shape characteristics. Compared to the original model, PointAttN, SCPAN achieves a 34.2% reduction in the number of parameters, and the inference time is reduced by 30 ms while maintaining comparable accuracy. The experimental results show that the proposed method can complete the corn point cloud more effectively, using a small model to help estimate the pose and dimensions of corn accurately. This work supports the precise phenotypic analysis of corn and similar crops, such as citrus and tomatoes, and promotes the development of smart agricultural technology.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsトウモロコシの遮蔽点群を補完し、形状・姿勢・寸法を推定する計算手法の開発が中心であり、植物表現型取得への応用も明示されている。

abstractTo obtain the complete shape and pose of corn under occlusion, this study proposes a point cloud completion algorithm

Open RGB Imaging Workflow for Morphological and Morphometric Analysis of Fruits using AI: A Case Study on Almonds. →

Abstract High-throughput phenotyping is addressing the current bottleneck in phenotyping within breeding programs. Imaging tools are becoming the primary resource for improving the efficiency of phenotyping processes and providing large datasets for genomic selection approaches. The advent of AI brings new advantages by enhancing phenotyping methods using imaging, making them more accessible to breeding programs. In this context, we have developed an open Python workflow for analyzing morphology and heritable morphometric traits using AI, which can be applied to fruits and other plant organs. This workflow has been implemented in almond (Prunus dulcis ), a species where efficiency is critical due to its long breeding cycle. Over 25,000 kernels, more than 20,000 nuts, and over 600 individuals have been phenotyped, making this the largest morphological study conducted in almond. As result, new heritable morphometric traits of interest have been identified. These findings pave the way for more efficient breeding strategies, ultimately facilitating the development of improved cultivars with desirable traits.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsAIを用いたRGB画像から果実の形態・形状形質を抽出するオープンPythonワークフローを開発・適用しており、植物表現型取得法が研究の中心である。

abstractwe have developed an open Python workflow for analyzing morphology and heritable morphometric traits using AI, which can be applied to fruits and other plant organs.

GRANA: An AI-based tool for accelerating chloroplast grana nanomorphology analysis using hybrid intelligence. →

Grana are fundamental structural units of the intricate chloroplast membrane network. Investigating their nanomorphology is essential for understanding photosynthetic efficiency regulation. Here, we present GRANA (Graphical Recognition and Analysis of Nanostructural Assemblies), an artificial intelligence-enhanced, user-friendly software tool that recognizes grana on thylakoid network electron micrographs and generates a complex set of their structural parameters. GRANA employs 3 artificial neural networks of different architectures and binds them in a 1-click workflow. Its output is designed to facilitate hybrid intelligence analysis, securing fast and reliable results from large datasets. The GRANA tool is over 100 times faster compared with currently used manual approaches. As a proof of concept, we have successfully applied GRANA software to diverse grana structures across different land plant species grown under various conditions, demonstrating the wide range of potential applications for our software. GRANA tool supports large-scale analysis of grana nanomorphological features, facilitating advancements in photosynthesis-oriented studies.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods葉緑体グラナの電子顕微鏡画像から構造パラメータを自動抽出するソフトウェアの開発であり、植物形態形質の取得・解析法が中心。

abstractan artificial intelligence-enhanced, user-friendly software tool that recognizes grana on thylakoid network electron micrographs and generates a complex set of their structural parameters.

Improved genomic prediction performance with ensembles of diverse models. →

The improvement of selection accuracy of genomic prediction is a key factor in accelerating genetic gain for crop breeding. Traditionally, efforts have focused on developing superior individual genomic prediction models. However, this approach has limitations due to the absence of a consistently "best" individual genomic prediction model, as suggested by the No Free Lunch Theorem. The No Free Lunch Theorem states that the performance of an individual prediction model is expected to be equivalent to the others when averaged across all prediction scenarios. To address this, we explored an alternative method: combining multiple genomic prediction models into an ensemble. The investigation of ensembles of prediction models is motivated by the Diversity Prediction Theorem, which indicates the prediction error of the many-model ensemble should be less than the average error of the individual models due to the diversity of predictions among the individual models. To investigate the implications of the No Free Lunch and Diversity Prediction Theorems, we developed a naïve ensemble-average model, which equally weights the predicted phenotypes of individual models. We evaluated this model using 2 traits influencing crop yield-days to anthesis and tiller number per plant-in the teosinte nested association mapping dataset. The results show that the ensemble approach increased prediction accuracies and reduced prediction errors over individual genomic prediction models. The advantage of the ensemble was derived from the diverse predictions among the individual models, suggesting the ensemble captures a more comprehensive view of the genomic architecture of these complex traits. These results are in accordance with the expectations of the Diversity Prediction Theorem and suggest that ensemble approaches can enhance genomic prediction performance and accelerate genetic gain in crop breeding programs.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods作物の表現型形質を予測するアンサンブル計算法の開発・評価が中心であり、単なる育種実験ではないため、計算的な表現型推定手法として収載する。

abstractwe developed a naïve ensemble-average model, which equally weights the predicted phenotypes of individual models.

Phenotypic dynamics and temporal heritability of tomato architectural traits using an unmanned ground vehicle-based plant phenotyping system →

Large-scale manual measurements of plant architectural traits in tomato growth are laborious and subjective, hindering deeper understanding of temporal variations in gene expression heterogeneity. This study develops a high-throughput approach for characterizing tomato architectural traits at different growth stages and mapping temporal broad-sense heritability using an unmanned ground vehicle-based plant phenotyping system. The SegFormer with fusion of multispectral and depth imaging modalities was employed to semantically segment plant organs from the registered RGB-D and multispectral images. Organ point clouds were then generated and clustered into instances. Finally, six key architectural traits, including fruit spacing (FS), inflorescence height (IH), stem thickness (ST), leaf spacing (LS), total leaf area (TLA), and leaf inclination angle (LIA) were extracted and the temporal broad-sense heritability folds were plotted. The root mean square errors (RMSEs) of the estimated FS, IH, ST, and LS were 0.014, 0.043, 0.003, and 0.015 m, respectively. The visualizations of the estimated TLA and LIA matched the actual growth trends. The broad-sense heritability of the extracted traits exhibited different trends across the growth stages: (i) ST, IH, and FS had a gradually increased broad-sense heritability over time, (ii) LS and LIA had a decreasing trend, and (iii) TLA showed fluctuations (i.e. an M-shaped pattern) of the broad-sense heritability throughout the growth period. The developed system and analytical approach are promising tools for accurate and rapid characterization of spatiotemporal changes of tomato plant architecture in controlled environments, laying the foundation for efficient crop breeding and precision production management in the future.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物形態形質を取得するUGV型マルチモーダル画像フェノタイピングシステムと解析手法の開発・定量評価が研究の中心であり、誤差検証も行っているため。

abstractThis study develops a high-throughput approach for characterizing tomato architectural traits at different growth stages and mapping temporal broad-sense heritability using an unmanned ground vehicle-based plant phenotyping system.

Predicting plant trait dynamics from genetic markers →

Molecular and physiological changes across crop developmental stages shape the plant phenome and render its prediction from genetic markers challenging. Here we present dynamicGP, an efficient computational approach that combines genomic prediction with dynamic mode decomposition to characterize the temporal changes and to predict genotype-specific dynamics for multiple morphometric, geometric and colourimetric traits scored by high-throughput phenotyping. Using genetic markers and data from high-throughput phenotyping of a maize multiparent advanced generation inter-cross population and an Arabidopsis thaliana diversity panel, we show that dynamicGP outperforms a baseline genomic prediction approach for the multiple traits. We demonstrate that the developmental dynamics of traits whose heritability varies less over time can be predicted with higher accuracy. The approach paves the way for interrogating and integrating the dynamical interactions between genotype and environment over plant development to improve the prediction accuracy of agronomically relevant traits.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods遺伝マーカーと高スループット表現型データを統合し、植物形態・幾何・色彩形質の時系列を予測する計算手法dynamicGPが研究の中心であるため。

abstractHere we present dynamicGP, an efficient computational approach that combines genomic prediction with dynamic mode decomposition to characterize the temporal changes and to predict genotype-specific dynamics for multiple morphometric, geometric and colourimetric traits scored by high-throughput phenotyping.

PFLO: a high-throughput pose estimation model for field maize based on YOLO architecture →

Posture is a critical phenotypic trait that reflects crop growth and serves as an essential indicator for both agricultural production and scientific research. Accurate pose estimation enables real-time tracking of crop growth processes, but in field environments, challenges such as variable backgrounds, dense planting, occlusions, and morphological changes hinder precise posture analysis. To address these challenges, we propose PFLO (Pose Estimation Model of Field Maize Based on YOLO Architecture), an end-to-end model for maize pose estimation, coupled with a novel data processing method to generate bounding boxes and pose skeleton data from a"keypoint-line"annotated phenotypic database which could mitigate the effects of uneven manual annotations and biases. PFLO also incorporates advanced architectural enhancements to optimize feature extraction and selection, enabling robust performance in complex conditions such as dense arrangements and severe occlusions. On a fivefold validation set of 1,862 images, PFLO achieved 72.2% pose estimation mean average precision (mAP50) and 91.6% object detection mean average precision (mAP50), outperforming current state-of-the-art models. The model demonstrates improved detection of occluded, edge, and small targets, accurately reconstructing skeletal poses of maize crops. PFLO provides a powerful tool for real-time phenotypic analysis, advancing automated crop monitoring in precision agriculture.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsトウモロコシの姿勢という植物表現型を、圃場画像から推定するモデルとデータ処理法を開発・検証しており、フェノタイピング手法が研究の中心である。

abstractwe propose PFLO (Pose Estimation Model of Field Maize Based on YOLO Architecture), an end-to-end model for maize pose estimation, coupled with a novel data processing method to generate bounding boxes and pose skeleton data

MFCPopulus: A Point Cloud Completion Network Based on Multi-Feature Fusion for the 3D Reconstruction of Individual Populus Tomentosa in Planted Forests →

The accurate point cloud completion of individual tree crowns is critical for quantifying crown complexity and advancing precision forestry, yet it remains challenging in dense plantations due to canopy occlusion and LiDAR limitations. In this study, we extended the scope of conventional point cloud completion techniques to artificial planted forests by introducing a novel approach called Multi−feature Fusion Completion of Populus (MFCPopulus). Specifically designed for Populus Tomentosa plantations with uniform spacing, this method utilized a dataset of 1050 manually segmented trees with expert−validated trunk−canopy separation. Key innovations include the following: (1) a hierarchical adversarial framework that integrates multi−scale feature extraction (via Farthest Point Sampling at varying rates) and biologically informed normalization to address trunk−canopy density disparities; (2) a structural characteristics split−collocation (SCS−SCC) strategy that prioritizes crown reconstruction through adaptive sampling ratios, achieving a 94.5% canopy coverage in outputs; (3) a cross−layer feature integration enabling the simultaneous recovery of global contours and a fine−grained branch topology. Compared to state−of−the−art methods, MFCPopulus reduced the Chamfer distance variance by 23% and structural complexity discrepancies (ΔDb) by 33% (mean, 0.12), while preserving species−specific morphological patterns. Octree analysis demonstrated an 89−94% spatial alignment with ground truth across height ratios (HR = 1.25−5.0). Although initially developed for artificial planted forests, the framework generalizes well to diverse species, accurately reconstructing 3D crown structures for both broadleaf (Fagus sylvatica, Acer campestre) and coniferous species (Pinus sylvestris) across public datasets, providing a precise and generalizable solution for cross−species trees’ phenotypic studies.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods個体樹冠の3D点群補完・再構成手法を開発し、樹冠構造や形態形質の定量化に有効性を検証しているため、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractThe accurate point cloud completion of individual tree crowns is critical for quantifying crown complexity

A 3D morpho-space of sepal geometry reveals the importance of organ curvature. →

How robust three-dimension (3D) organ shape emerges during morphogenesis is a fundamental question in biology. Addressing this question requires a comprehensive quantification of organ geometry in 3D. To tackle these issues, we considered the sepal of Arabidopsis as a model. Using a unique pipeline allowing to recover 3D sepal morphology, we analysed fifteen mutants affected in different pathways. The results of a Principal Component Analysis reveal sepal curvature as an important parameter accounting for variations in sepal morphology within genotypes. Unexpectedly, despite genetic homogeneity of the wild-type plants and reproducible culture conditions, we found a significant level of variability in sepal morphology. Our data also show that sepal shape from wild-type plants is more robust (less variable) than sepal size, hinting to a possible selective pressure on shape parameters.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3D萼片形態を復元・定量する独自パイプラインが研究の中心であり、器官形状・曲率という植物表現型を解析している。

abstractUsing a unique pipeline allowing to recover 3D sepal morphology, we analysed fifteen mutants affected in different pathways.

Soybean yield estimation and lodging discrimination based on lightweight UAV and point cloud deep learning →

The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform has emerged as a powerful tool in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) breeding phenotype research due to its high throughput and adaptability. However, previous studies have predominantly relied on statistical features like vegetation indices and textures, overlooking the crucial structural information embedded in the data. Feature fusion has often been confined to a one-dimensional exponential form, which can decouple spatial and spectral information and neglect their interactions at the data level. In this study, we leverage our team's cross-circling oblique (CCO) route photography and Structure-from-Motion with Multi-View Stereo (SfM-MVS) techniques to reconstruct the three-dimensional (3D) structure of soybean canopies. Newly point cloud deep learning models SoyNet and SoyNet-Res were further created with two novel data-level fusion that integrate spatial structure and color information. Our results reveal that incorporating RGB color and vegetation index (VI) spectral information with spatial structure information, leads to a significant reduction in root mean square error (RMSE) for yield estimation (22.55 ​kg ​ha -1 ) and an improvement in F1-score for five-class lodging discrimination (0.06) at S7 growth stage. The SoyNet-Res model employing multi-task learning exhibits better accuracy in both yield estimation (RMSE: 349.45 ​kg ​ha -1 ) when compared to the H2O-AutoML. Furthermore, our findings indicate that multi-task deep learning outperforms single-task learning in lodging discrimination, achieving an accuracy top-2 of 0.87 and accuracy top-3 of 0.97 for five-class. In conclusion, the point cloud deep learning method exhibits tremendous potential in learning multi-phenotype tasks, laying the foundation for optimizing soybean breeding programs.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsUAV・SfM-MVSによるダイズ群落の3D構造再構成と、収量推定・倒伏判別のための専用深層学習モデル開発が研究の中心であり、再利用可能な表現型取得・推定手法に該当する。

abstractIn this study, we leverage our team's cross-circling oblique (CCO) route photography and Structure-from-Motion with Multi-View Stereo (SfM-MVS) techniques to reconstruct the three-dimensional (3D) structure of soybean canopies.

Expansion microscopy reveals thylakoid organisation alterations due to genetic mutations and far-red light acclimation. →

The thylakoid membrane is the site of the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis. It is a continuous membrane, folded into grana stacks and the interconnecting stroma lamellae. The CURVATURE THYLAKOID1 (CURT1) protein family is involved in the folding of the membrane into the grana stacks. The thylakoid membrane remodels its architecture in response to light conditions, but its 3D organisation and dynamics remain incompletely understood. To resolve these details, an imaging technique is needed that provides high-resolution 3D images in a high-throughput manner. Recently, we have used expansion microscopy, a technique that meets these criteria, to visualise the thylakoid membrane isolated from spinach. Here, we show that this protocol can also be used to visualise enveloped spinach chloroplasts. Additionally, we present an improved protocol for resolving the thylakoid structure of Arabidopsis thaliana. Using this protocol, we show the changes in thylakoid architecture in response to long-term far-red light acclimation and due to knocking out CURT1A. We show that far-red light acclimation results in higher grana stacks that are packed closer together. In addition, the distance between stroma lamellae, which are wrapped around the grana, decreases. In the curt1a mutant, grana have an increased diameter and height, and the distance between grana is increased. Interestingly, in this mutant, the stroma lamellae occasionally approach the grana stacks from the top. These observations show the potential of expansion microscopy to study the thylakoid membrane architecture.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物のチラコイド膜構造を高解像度3D画像で取得する拡大顕微鏡法の改良・適用が中心であり、膜構造という植物形態形質を測定しているため。

abstractTo resolve these details, an imaging technique is needed that provides high-resolution 3D images in a high-throughput manner.

Photogrammetry to Assess the Recovery of a Forest: Case Study of Guadalupe Island →

This study employs photogrammetry to evaluate and monitor the recovery of the cypress forest on Guadalupe Island, Mexico, an ecosystem significantly impacted by fires and overgrazing. Two drone surveys were conducted over the forest area during the summers of 2016 and 2019 using natural color (RGB) and near-infrared (NIR) cameras. This work presents the first complete 3D reconstruction of the cypress forest on the island. The image processing products include the canopy height model (CHM), digital surface model (DSM), and digital terrain model (DTM), which were utilized to calculate the number, density, height and crown projected areas of trees. The CHM showed a high correlation with the forest's structure (R = 0.92), based on field measurements of tree heights. Our study accounted for approximately 67,340 trees taller than two meters in 2019. Over 90% of the cypress population consisted of young trees between 2 and 3 meters tall, which have recovered significantly following a fire in 2008 that burned 70% of its extent. A horizontal expansion of 134 hectares was observed from 2016 to 2019 in the regeneration process.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsドローン画像のフォトグラメトリによる3D再構成を用いて樹木の高さ・密度・樹冠面積を推定し、現地測定との相関で検証しているため、植物形質の取得手法が中心です。

abstractThis study employs photogrammetry to evaluate and monitor the recovery of the cypress forest on Guadalupe Island, Mexico

3D reconstruction enables high-throughput phenotyping and quantitative genetic analysis of phyllotaxy →

Differences in canopy architecture play a role in determining both the light and water use efficiency. Canopy architecture is determined by several component traits, including leaf length, width, number, angle, and phyllotaxy. Phyllotaxy may be among the most difficult of the leaf canopy traits to measure accurately across large numbers of individual plants. As a result, in simulations of the leaf canopies of grain crops such as maize and sorghum, this trait is frequently approximated as alternating 180° angles between sequential leaves. We explore the feasibility of extracting direct measurements of the phyllotaxy of sequential leaves from 3D reconstructions of individual sorghum plants generated from 2D calibrated images and test the assumption of consistently alternating phyllotaxy across a diverse set of sorghum genotypes. Using a voxel-carving-based approach, we generate 3D reconstructions from multiple calibrated 2D images of 366 sorghum plants representing 236 sorghum genotypes from the sorghum association panel. The correlation between automated and manual measurements of phyllotaxy is only modestly lower than the correlation between manual measurements of phyllotaxy generated by two different individuals. Automated phyllotaxy measurements exhibited a repeatability of R 2 ​= ​0.41 across imaging timepoints separated by a period of two days. A resampling based genome wide association study (GWAS) identified several putative genetic associations with lower-canopy phyllotaxy in sorghum. This study demonstrates the potential of 3D reconstruction to enable both quantitative genetic investigation and breeding for phyllotaxy in sorghum and other grain crops with similar plant architectures.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3D再構成とボクセル・カービングにより、ソルガムの葉序を自動抽出・定量し、手動測定との比較と再現性評価まで行っており、植物表現型取得法が研究の中心である。

abstractWe explore the feasibility of extracting direct measurements of the phyllotaxy of sequential leaves from 3D reconstructions of individual sorghum plants generated from 2D calibrated images

Unlocking the potential of Airborne LiDAR for direct assessment of fuel bulk density and load distributions for wildfire hazard mapping →

Large-scale mapping of fuel load and fuel vertical distribution is essential for assessing fire danger, setting strategic goals and actions, and determining long-term resource needs. The Airborne LiDAR system can fulfil such goal by accurately capturing the three-dimensional arrangement of vegetation at regional and national scales. We developed a novel method to estimate multiple metrics of fuel load and vertical bulk density distribution for any type of vegetation. The approach uses Beer-Lambert law for inverting the ALS point cloud into vertical plant area density profiles, which are converted into vertical bulk density distribution profiles using species-specific plant traits. The approach is evaluated by comparing ALS-based vegetation profiles and fuel metrics with field-based data from southeastern France, Spain, and Portugal for a range of vegetation types. ALS-based and field-based vertical vegetation profiles were consistent. The range of values of fuel load metrics was also consistent with field data. Good correlations and low bias were attained for simple stratified structure with R² of 0.6, 0.42 and 0.68 and bias of -5 %, -2 % and -3.3 % for canopy base height, canopy fuel load, and canopy bulk density respectively. However, correlations were low for complex vertical structures. The use of species-specific plant traits appeared relevant by lowering the deviation between field and ALS-based values for most species. Our field-independent fuel metric estimation shows comparable performance to results in the literature based on classification approaches trained on field metrics, highlighting the generality of our direct approach. We demonstrated how our approach is more relevant than field data for defining vertical vegetation strata in complex forest structures. We showed an application of the methods by mapping multiple metrics at regional scale (6343 km²) such as canopy base height, fuel strata gap, and canopy and understory fuel loads. Our approach is adequate for feeding next generation models of wildfire risk assessment systems, enhanced by more flexible and accurate fuel data than the existing fuel typologies.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods航空LiDAR点群から植生の垂直構造、燃料負荷、バルク密度などの植物・キャノピー形質を推定する手法を開発し、野外データで評価して地域適用しているため、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractWe developed a novel method to estimate multiple metrics of fuel load and vertical bulk density distribution for any type of vegetation.

A method for phenotyping lettuce volume and structure from 3D images →

Abstract Monitoring plant growth is crucial for effective crop management, and using color and depth (RGBD) cameras to model lettuce has emerged as one of the most convenient and non-invasive methods. In recent years, deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, have become popular for estimating lettuce fresh weight. However, these models are typically specific to particular datasets, lack domain adaptation, and are often limited by the availability of open-access datasets. In this study, we propose a method based on plant geometric features for estimating the rosette structure and volume of lettuce. This new approach was compared to existing methods that reconstruct surfaces from point clouds, such as Ball Pivoting and Alpha Shapes. The proposed method creates a tight hull around the plant's point cloud, preserving high detail of the rosette structure while filling in surface holes in areas not visible to 3D cameras. Using a linear regression model, we estimated fresh weight for this dataset, achieving a root mean square error (RMSE) of 18.2 g when using only the estimated plant volume, and 17.3 g when both volume and geometric features were included. Additionally, we introduced new geometric features that characterize leaf density, which could be useful for breeding applications. A dataset of 402 point clouds of lettuce plants, captured before harvest, was compiled using one top-down and three side-view 3D cameras.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsRGB-D画像からレタスの構造・体積・葉密度を抽出し、生体重推定を検証する手法開発が研究の中心であり、データセットも構築している。

abstractIn this study, we propose a method based on plant geometric features for estimating the rosette structure and volume of lettuce.

Enhancing plant morphological trait identification in herbarium collections through deep learning-based segmentation. →

Premise Deep learning has become increasingly important in the analysis of digitized herbarium collections, which comprise millions of scans that provide valuable resources for studying plant evolution and biodiversity. However, leveraging deep learning algorithms to analyze these scans presents significant challenges, partly due to the heterogeneous nature of the non-plant material that forms the background of the scans. We hypothesize that removing such backgrounds can improve the performance of these algorithms. Methods We propose a novel method based on deep learning to segment and generate plant masks from herbarium scans and subsequently remove the non-plant backgrounds. The semi-automatic preprocessing stages involve the identification and removal of non-plant elements, substantially reducing the manual effort required to prepare the training dataset. Results The results highlight the importance of effective image segmentation, which achieved an F1 score of up to 96.6%. Moreover, when used in classification models for plant morphological trait identification, the images resulting from segmentation improved classification accuracy by up to 3% and F1 score by up to 7% compared to non-segmented images. Discussion Our approach isolates plant elements in herbarium scans by removing background elements to improve classification tasks. We demonstrate that image segmentation significantly enhances the performance of plant morphological trait identification models.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsハーバリウム画像から植物マスクを生成する深層学習セグメンテーション手法を開発し、形態形質識別への効果も検証しており、表現型取得・抽出手法が中心である。

abstractWe propose a novel method based on deep learning to segment and generate plant masks from herbarium scans and subsequently remove the non-plant backgrounds.

Integrating remote sensing and field inventories to understand determinants of urban forest diversity and structure. →

Understanding the determinants of urban forest diversity and structure is important for preserving biodiversity and sustaining ecosystem services in cities. However, comprehensive field assessments are resource-intensive, and landscape-level approaches may overlook heterogeneity within urban regions. To address this challenge, we combined remote sensing with field inventories to comprehensively map and analyze urban forest attributes in forest patches across the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area (MSPMA) in a multistep process. First, we developed predictive machine learning models of forest attributes by integrating data from forest inventories (from 40 12.5-m-radius plots) with Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) observations and Sentinel-2-derived land surface phenology (LSP). These models enabled accurate predictions of forest attributes, specifically nine metrics of plant diversity (tree species richness, tree abundance, and understory plant abundance), structure (average canopy height, dbh, and canopy density), and structural complexity (variability in canopy height, dbh, and canopy density) with relative errors ranging between 11% and 21%. Second, we applied these machine learning models to predict diversity metrics for 804 additional plots from GEDI and Sentinel-2. Finally, we applied Bayesian multilevel models to the predicted diversity metrics to assess the influence of multiple factors-patch dimensions, landscape attributes, plot position, and jurisdictional agency-on these forest attributes across the 804 predicted plots. The models showed all predictors have some degree of effect on forest attributes, presenting varying explanatory power with R 2 values ranging from 0.071 to 0.405. Overall, plot characteristics (e.g., distance to nearest trail, proximity to forest edge) and jurisdictional agency explained a large portion of the variability across patches, whereas patch and landscape characteristics did not. The relative effect of plot versus management sets of predictors on the marginal ΔR 2 was heterogeneous across metrics and ecological subsections (an ecological classification designation). The multiplicity of determinants influencing urban forests emphasizes the intricate nature of urban ecosystems and highlights nuanced, heterogeneous relationships between urban ecological and anthropogenic factors that determine forest properties. Effectively enhancing biodiversity in urban forests requires assessments, management, and conservation strategies tailored for context-specific characteristics.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsGEDI・Sentinel-2と機械学習を統合し、植物の多様性・構造属性を予測する測定手法を開発、誤差評価し、追加プロットへ適用しているため、表現型取得が中心的である。

abstractwe developed predictive machine learning models of forest attributes by integrating data from forest inventories (from 40 12.5-m-radius plots) with Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) observations and Sentinel-2-derived land surface phenology (LSP).

NeRF-Accelerated Ecological Monitoring in Mixed-Evergreen Redwood Forest →

Forest mapping provides critical observational data needed to understand the dynamics of forest environments. Notably, tree diameter at breast height (DBH) is a metric used to estimate forest biomass and carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration. Manual methods of forest mapping are labor intensive and time consuming, a bottleneck for large-scale mapping efforts. Automated mapping relies on acquiring dense forest reconstructions, typically in the form of point clouds. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and mobile laser scanning (MLS) generate point clouds using expensive LiDAR sensing and have been used successfully to estimate tree diameter. Neural radiance fields (NeRFs) are an emergent technology enabling photorealistic, vision-based reconstruction by training a neural network on a sparse set of input views. In this paper, we present a comparison of MLS and NeRF forest reconstructions for the purpose of trunk diameter estimation in a mixed-evergreen Redwood forest. In addition, we propose an improved DBH-estimation method using convex-hull modeling. Using this approach, we achieved 1.68 cm RMSE (2.81%), which consistently outperformed standard cylinder modeling approaches.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods森林内の樹木DBHという個体形態形質を、NeRF・MLS再構成と凸包モデルで推定し、手法比較と精度評価を行っているため、植物形質取得法が中心です。

abstractIn this paper, we present a comparison of MLS and NeRF forest reconstructions for the purpose of trunk diameter estimation in a mixed-evergreen Redwood forest.

Modification of an automated precision farming robot for high temporal resolution measurement of leaf angle dynamics using stereo vision →

In agriculture, the plant leaf angle influences light use efficiency and photosynthesis and, consequently, the overall crop performance. Leaf angle measurements are used in plant phenotyping, plant breeding, and remote sensing to study plant function and structure. Traditional manual leaf angle measurements have limited precision as they are labor- and time-intensive due to challenging environmental conditions and highly dynamic plant processes. To enable more detailed studies on leaf angles, we modified a well-established automated farming robot to obtain high-resolution 3D point clouds at customizable intervals of individual plants using stereo vision. We demonstrate the system's accuracy and reliability, with minimal deviation from reference values. The method can be utilized by other researchers to gather data on leaf angles and other structural plant traits at regular intervals to access the dynamics of leaves, plants, and canopies. The system's low cost and adaptability can enhance the efficiency of crop monitoring in plant breeding and phenotyping experiments. Detailed documentation and code are available on GitHub.•An open-source farming robot is retrofitted to function as an automatic data collection platform•Hard to access leaf angles can be retrieved with high accuracy•Leaf angle dynamics can be observed with high temporal resolution.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsステレオビジョンを用いて葉角度を高精度・高頻度に測定するロボット基盤を開発・改良し、精度と信頼性を検証しているため、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractwe modified a well-established automated farming robot to obtain high-resolution 3D point clouds at customizable intervals of individual plants using stereo vision.

Evaluation of Height Changes in Uneven-Aged Spruce–Fir–Beech Forest with Freely Available Nationwide Lidar and Aerial Photogrammetry Data →

Tree height and vertical forest structure are important attributes in forestry, but their traditional measurement or assessment in the field is expensive, time-consuming, and often inaccurate. One of the main advantages of using remote sensing data to estimate vertical forest structure is the ability to obtain accurate data for larger areas in a more time- and cost-efficient manner. Temporal changes are also important for estimating and analysing tree heights, and in many countries, national airborne laser scanning (ALS) surveys have been conducted either only once or at specific, longer intervals, whereas aerial surveys are more often arranged in cycles with shorter intervals. In this study, we reviewed all freely available national airborne remote sensing data describing three-dimensional forest structures in Slovenia and compared them with traditional field measurements in an area dominated by uneven-aged forests. The comparison of ALS and digital aerial photogrammetry (DAP) data revealed that freely available national ALS data provide better estimates of dominant forest heights, vertical structural diversity, and their changes compared to cyclic DAP data, but they are still useful due to their temporally dense data. Up-to-date data are very important for forest management and the study of forest resilience and resistance to disturbance. Based on field measurements (2013 and 2023) and all remote sensing data, dominant and maximum heights are statistically significantly higher in uneven-aged forests than in mature, even-aged forests. Canopy height diversity (CHD) information, derived from lidar ALS and DAP data, has also proven to be suitable for distinguishing between even-aged and uneven-aged forests. The CHDALS 2023 was 1.64, and the CHDCAS 2022 was 1.38 in uneven-aged stands, which were statistically significantly higher than in even-aged forest stands.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsALSと航空写真測量による樹高・森林垂直構造・樹冠高多様性の推定を現地測定と比較検証しており、植物（森林）の形態形質測定が研究の中心です。

abstractThe comparison of ALS and digital aerial photogrammetry (DAP) data revealed that freely available national ALS data provide better estimates of dominant forest heights, vertical structural diversity, and their changes compared to cyclic DAP data

Improving the 3D representation of plant architecture and parameterization efficiency of functional–structural tree models using terrestrial LiDAR data →

Abstract Functional–structural plant (FSP) models are useful tools for understanding plant functioning and how plants react to their environment. Developing tree FSP models is data-intensive and measuring tree architecture using conventional measurement tools is a laborious process. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) could be an alternative nondestructive method to obtain structural information about tree architecture. This research investigated how terrestrial LiDAR (TLS)-derived tree traits could be used in the design and parameterization of tree FSP models. A systematic literature search was performed to create an overview of tree parameters needed for FSP model development. The resulting structural parameters were compared to LiDAR literature to get an overview of the possibilities and limitations. Furthermore, a tropical tree and Scots pine FSP model were selected and parametrized with TLS-derived parameters. Quantitative structural models were used to derive the parameters and a total of 37 TLS-scanned tropical trees and 10 Scots pines were included in the analysis. Ninety papers on FSP tree models were screened and eight papers fulfilled all the selection criteria. From these papers, 50 structural parameters used for FSP model development were identified, from which 28 parameters were found to be derivable from LiDAR. The TLS-derived parameters were compared to measurements, and the accuracy was variable. It was found that branch angle could be used as model input, but internode length was unsuitable. Outputs of the FSP models with TLS-derived branch angle differed from the FSP model outcomes with default branch angle. Results showed that it is possible to use TLS for FSP model inputs, although with caution as this has implications for the model variable outputs. In the future, LiDAR could help improve efficiency in building new FSP models, increase the accuracy of existing models, add metrics for optimization, and open new possibilities to explore previously unobtainable plant traits.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsTLSによる樹木構造形質の取得・精度比較と、機能構造モデルへの適用が研究の中心であり、植物表現型計測法の実質的な検証・応用に該当する。

abstractLight detection and ranging (LiDAR) could be an alternative nondestructive method to obtain structural information about tree architecture.

Image dataset: UAV images and ground data of one 'Bingo' mandarin and two 'Valencia' orange rootstock trials conducted in Florida. →

The data are aerial images and ground tree measurement data of 3 citrus rootstock trials. Developing new citrus rootstock varieties requires field trials to test to identify selections with improved horticultural performance. A bud from a scion variety is grafted onto the rootstock and grown in a nursery until the grafted plant is ready to be planted in the field, which is in about one year. Trees in the field are assessed each year by measuring height, canopy diameter in 2 dimensions, overall health, and fruit number and quality factors when the trees begin to have a significant crop (∼3 years). Data collection of each tree is done manually. The image and ground data sets are of 3 rootstock trials that includes a 3-year-old Bingo mandarin hybrid trial of 206 trees, a 6-year-old Valencia orange trial of 643 trees, and a 7-year-old Valencia orange trials of 648 trees. Data for each trial includes aerial images and ground data of height, canopy diameters, and an overall health rating. The combination of ground validated measures and aerial images make this data set useful for building AI-based aerial image data collection applications. The data will be useful for 1) visualizing the effects of different rootstock selections and varieties on scion growth, effects that may not be fully captured with single measure metrics; and 2) development of image analysis applications and segmentation algorithms that can extract data from the images that are suitable for replacing some or all the ground measures.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods柑橘樹の高さ、樹冠径、健康状態を対象とする航空画像・地上測定データセットで、画像解析やセグメンテーションによる形質抽出の開発用途が明示されており、表現型取得法が中心である。

abstractThe combination of ground validated measures and aerial images make this data set useful for building AI-based aerial image data collection applications.

Application of Image-Based Phenotyping for QTL Identification of Tiller Angle in Rice ( Oryza sativa L.). →

Rice tiller angle is a key agronomic trait that regulates plant architecture and plays a critical role in determining rice yield. Given that tiller angle is regulated by multiple genes, it is important to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with tiller angle. Recently, with the advancement of imaging technology for plant phenotyping, it has become possible to quickly and accurately measure agronomic traits of breeding populations. In this study, we extracted tiller angle and various image-based parameters from Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images of a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between Milyang23 (Indica) and Giho (Japonica). Correlations among the obtained data were analyzed, and through dynamic QTL mapping, five major QTLs (qTA1, qTA1-1, qTA2, qTA2-1, and qTA9) related to tiller angle were detected on chromosomes 1, 2, and 9. Among them, 26 candidate genes related to auxin signaling and plant growth, including the TAC1 (Tiller Angle Control 1) gene, were identified in qTA9 (RM257-STS09048). These results demonstrate the potential of image-based phenotyping to overcome the limitations of traditional manual measurements in crop structure research. Furthermore, the identification of key QTLs and candidate genes related to tiller angle provides valuable genetic insights for the development of high-yielding varieties through crop morphology control.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsRGB画像からイネの分げつ角度と画像パラメータを抽出する画像ベース表現型解析を、育種集団で実質的に適用・評価しており、表現型取得法が中心です。

abstractRecently, with the advancement of imaging technology for plant phenotyping, it has become possible to quickly and accurately measure agronomic traits of breeding populations.

Multimodal Data Fusion for Precise Lettuce Phenotype Estimation Using Deep Learning Algorithms →

Effective lettuce cultivation requires precise monitoring of growth characteristics, quality assessment, and optimal harvest timing. In a recent study, a deep learning model based on multimodal data fusion was developed to estimate lettuce phenotypic traits accurately. A dual-modal network combining RGB and depth images was designed using an open lettuce dataset. The network incorporated both a feature correction module and a feature fusion module, significantly enhancing the performance in object detection, segmentation, and trait estimation. The model demonstrated high accuracy in estimating key traits, including fresh weight (fw), dry weight (dw), plant height (h), canopy diameter (d), and leaf area (la), achieving an R2 of 0.9732 for fresh weight. Robustness and accuracy were further validated through 5-fold cross-validation, offering a promising approach for future crop phenotyping.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsRGB・深度画像を融合した深層学習によるレタス形質推定手法を開発し、交差検証で性能評価しており、フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstracta deep learning model based on multimodal data fusion was developed to estimate lettuce phenotypic traits accurately

High spatial and spectral resolution dataset of hyperspectral look-up tables for 3.5 million traits and structural combinations of Central European temperate broadleaf forests. →

Accurate retrieval of forest functional traits from remote sensing data is critical for monitoring forest health and productivity. To achieve sufficient accuracy using inverse methods it is essential to have representative database of simulated or measured spectral properties together with corresponding forest traits. However, existing datasets are often limited in scope, covering specific sites and times with simplified structures. This limitation hinders the development of generalizable machine learning models for trait prediction. To address this issue, we present a comprehensive high-resolution dataset of hyperspectral Look-Up Tables (LUT) designed for Central European temperate broadleaf forests. The dataset includes 3.5 million unique combinations of leaf biochemical and canopy structural characteristics of forest scenes together with a variety of sun geometry. The spectral data cover wavelengths from 450 nm to 2300 nm, with a resolution of 2 nm. The dataset is organised into two files: one capturing the average reflectance of all scene pixels and another focusing solely on sunlit leaf pixels. LUT were generated using the Discrete Anisotropic Radiative Transfer model version 5.10.0. Virtual forest scenes were based on 3D tree representations derived from Terrestrial Laser Scanning of European beech trees, adjusted to various leaf area index values and structural configurations to simulate natural forest variability. The reflectance data were processed using MATLAB and Python scripts, resulting in hyperspectral cubes that were processed to generate the LUT. The dataset can be used to train machine learning models, such as Random Forest and Support Vector Machines, for predicting forest functional traits and assisting in the calibration of remote sensing algorithms. The biggest advantage of the dataset is high spectral and spatial resolution, together with the high number of different trait combinations, which allows for adaptability to different times, locations, and hyper- and multispectral sensors, and can support up-coming hyperspectral satellite missions. ESA Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the Environment (CHIME) and NASA Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) future satellite missions can utilise this dataset to develop their product processors for monitoring forest traits.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods森林の機能形質を推定するための大規模ハイパースペクトルLUTデータセットを構築しており、形質取得・推定基盤そのものが研究の中心である。

abstractwe present a comprehensive high-resolution dataset of hyperspectral Look-Up Tables (LUT) designed for Central European temperate broadleaf forests.

Comprehensive Analysis of Phenotypic Traits in Chinese Cabbage Using 3D Point Cloud Technology →

Studies on the phenotypic traits and their associations in Chinese cabbage lack precise and objective digital evaluation metrics. Traditional assessment methods often rely on subjective evaluations and experience, compromising accuracy and reliability. This study develops an innovative, comprehensive trait evaluation method based on 3D point cloud technology, with the aim of enhancing the precision, reliability, and standardization of the comprehensive phenotypic traits of Chinese cabbage. By using multi-view image sequences and structure-from-motion algorithms, 3D point clouds of 50 plants from each of the 17 Chinese cabbage varieties were reconstructed. Color-based region growing and 3D convex hull techniques were employed to measure 30 agronomic traits. Comparisons between 3D point cloud-based measurements of the plant spread, plant height, leaf area, and leaf ball volume and traditional methods yielded R2 values greater than 0.97, with root mean square errors of 1.27 cm, 1.16 cm, 839.77 cm3, and 59.15 cm2, respectively. Based on the plant spread and plant height, a linear regression prediction of Chinese cabbage weights was conducted, yielding an R2 value of 0.76. Integrated optimization algorithms were used to test the parameters, reducing the measurement time from 55 min when using traditional methods to 3.2 min. Furthermore, in-depth analyses including variation, correlation, principal component analysis, and clustering analyses were conducted. Variation analysis revealed significant trait variability, with correlation analysis indicating 21 pairs of traits with highly significant positive correlations and 2 pairs with highly significant negative correlations. The top six principal components accounted for 90% of the total variance. Using the elbow method, k-means clustering determined that the optimal number of clusters was four, thus classifying the 17 cabbage varieties into four distinct groups. This study provides new theoretical and methodological insights for exploring phenotypic trait associations in Chinese cabbage and facilitates the breeding and identification of high-quality varieties. Compared with traditional methods, this system provides significant advantages in terms of accuracy, speed, and comprehensiveness, with its low cost and ease of use making it an ideal replacement for manual methods, being particularly suited for large-scale monitoring and high-throughput phenotyping.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods中国白菜の表現型を3D点群から抽出する測定法を開発し、従来法との精度比較・検証および高速化を行っており、植物表現型測定が研究の中心である。

abstractThis study develops an innovative, comprehensive trait evaluation method based on 3D point cloud technology

Virtual staining from bright-field microscopy for label-free quantitative analysis of plant cell structures →

The applicability of a deep learning model for the virtual staining of plant cell structures using bright-field microscopy was investigated. The training dataset consisted of microscopy images of tobacco BY-2 cells with the plasma membrane stained with the fluorescent dye PlasMem Bright Green and the cell nucleus labeled with Histone-red fluorescent protein. The trained models successfully detected the expansion of cell nuclei upon aphidicolin treatment and a decrease in the cell aspect ratio upon propyzamide treatment, demonstrating its utility in cell morphometry. The model also accurately documented the shape of Arabidopsis pavement cells in both wild type and the bpp125 triple mutant, which has an altered pavement cell phenotype. Metrics such as cell area, circularity, and solidity obtained from virtual staining analyses were highly correlated with those obtained by manual measurements of cell features from microscopy images. Furthermore, the versatility of virtual staining was highlighted by its application to track chloroplast movement in Egeria densa . The method was also effective for classifying live and dead BY-2 cells using texture-based machine learning, suggesting that virtual staining can be applied beyond typical segmentation tasks. Although this method still has some limitations, its non-invasive nature and efficiency make it highly suitable for label-free, dynamic, and high-throughput analyses in quantitative plant cell biology.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物細胞構造の仮想染色と画像解析モデルを開発・評価し、細胞面積・形状・核拡大・葉緑体運動・生死などの表現型を定量化しているため、フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractThe applicability of a deep learning model for the virtual staining of plant cell structures using bright-field microscopy was investigated.

Benchmarking of Individual Tree Segmentation Methods in Mediterranean Forest Based on Point Clouds from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Imagery and Low-Density Airborne Laser Scanning →

Three raster-based (RB) and one point cloud-based (PCB) algorithms were tested to segment individual Aleppo pine trees and extract their tree height (H) and crown diameter (CD) using two types of point clouds generated from two different techniques: (1) Low-Density (≈1.5 points/m2) Airborne Laser Scanning (LD-ALS) and (2) photogrammetry based on high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images. Through intensive experiments, it was concluded that the tested RB algorithms performed best in the case of UAV point clouds (F1-score > 80.57%, H Pearson’s r > 0.97, and CD Pearson´s r > 0.73), while the PCB algorithm yielded the best results when working with LD-ALS point clouds (F1-score = 89.51%, H Pearson´s r = 0.94, and CD Pearson´s r = 0.57). The best set of algorithm parameters was applied to all plots, i.e., it was not optimized for each plot, in order to develop an automatic pipeline for mapping large areas of Mediterranean forests. In this case, tree detection and height estimation showed good results for both UAV and LD-ALS (F1-score > 85% and >76%, and H Pearson´s r > 0.96 and >0.93, respectively). However, very poor results were found when estimating crown diameter (CD Pearson´s r around 0.20 for both approaches).

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods個体樹のセグメンテーション手法を比較・検証し、樹高と樹冠径という植物形質を点群から推定する自動パイプラインを評価しており、フェノタイピング手法が中心です。

titleBenchmarking of Individual Tree Segmentation Methods in Mediterranean Forest Based on Point Clouds from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Imagery and Low-Density Airborne Laser Scanning

Enhancing Grapevine Node Detection to Support Pruning Automation: Leveraging State-of-the-Art YOLO Detection Models for 2D Image Analysis. →

Automating pruning tasks entails overcoming several challenges, encompassing not only robotic manipulation but also environment perception and detection. To achieve efficient pruning, robotic systems must accurately identify the correct cutting points. A possible method to define these points is to choose the cutting location based on the number of nodes present on the targeted cane. For this purpose, in grapevine pruning, it is required to correctly identify the nodes present on the primary canes of the grapevines. In this paper, a novel method of node detection in grapevines is proposed with four distinct state-of-the-art versions of the YOLO detection model: YOLOv7, YOLOv8, YOLOv9 and YOLOv10. These models were trained on a public dataset with images containing artificial backgrounds and afterwards validated on different cultivars of grapevines from two distinct Portuguese viticulture regions with cluttered backgrounds. This allowed us to evaluate the robustness of the algorithms on the detection of nodes in diverse environments, compare the performance of the YOLO models used, as well as create a publicly available dataset of grapevines obtained in Portuguese vineyards for node detection. Overall, all used models were capable of achieving correct node detection in images of grapevines from the three distinct datasets. Considering the trade-off between accuracy and inference speed, the YOLOv7 model demonstrated to be the most robust in detecting nodes in 2D images of grapevines, achieving F1-Score values between 70% and 86.5% with inference times of around 89 ms for an input size of 1280 × 1280 px. Considering these results, this work contributes with an efficient approach for real-time node detection for further implementation on an autonomous robotic pruning system.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsブドウの節という明示的な植物器官形質をYOLO画像解析で検出する手法を開発・比較検証し、異なる品種・環境で評価しているため、フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractIn this paper, a novel method of node detection in grapevines is proposed with four distinct state-of-the-art versions of the YOLO detection model: YOLOv7, YOLOv8, YOLOv9 and YOLOv10.

Influence of Structure from Motion Algorithm Parameters on Metrics for Individual Tree Detection Accuracy and Precision →

Uncrewed aerial system (UAS) structure from motion (SfM) monitoring strategies for individual trees has rapidly expanded in the early 21st century. It has become common for studies to report accuracies for individual tree heights and DBH, along with stand density metrics. This study evaluates individual tree detection and stand basal area accuracy and precision in five ponderosa pine sites against the range of SfM parameters in the Agisoft Metashape, Pix4DMapper, and OpenDroneMap algorithms. The study is designed to frame UAS-SfM individual tree monitoring accuracy in the context of data processing and storage demands as a function of SfM algorithm parameter levels. Results show that when SfM algorithms are properly tuned, differences between software types are negligible, with Metashape providing a median F-score improvement over OpenDroneMap of 0.02 and PIX4DMapper of 0.06. However, tree extraction performance varied greatly across algorithm parameters, with the greatest extraction rates typically coming from parameters causing increased density in dense point clouds and minimal point cloud filtering. Transferring UAS-SfM forest monitoring into management will require tradeoffs between accuracy and efficiency. Our analysis shows that a one-step reduction in dense point cloud quality saves 77–86% in point cloud processing time without decreasing tree extraction (F-score) or basal area precision using Metashape and PIX4DMapper but the same parameter change for OpenDroneMap caused a ~5% loss in precision. Providing reproducible processing strategies is a vital step in successfully transferring these technologies into usage as management tools.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsUAS-SfMの処理パラメータと複数ソフトウェアを比較し、個体樹の抽出精度、樹高・DBH、林分断面積を評価する技術検証が中心である。

abstractThis study evaluates individual tree detection and stand basal area accuracy and precision in five ponderosa pine sites against the range of SfM parameters in the Agisoft Metashape, Pix4DMapper, and OpenDroneMap algorithms.

NeRF-Accelerated Ecological Monitoring in Mixed-Evergreen Redwood Forest →

Forest mapping provides critical observational data needed to understand the dynamics of forest environments. Notably, tree diameter at breast height (DBH) is a metric used to estimate forest biomass and carbon dioxide sequestration. Manual methods of forest mapping are labor intensive and time consuming, a bottleneck for large-scale mapping efforts. Automated mapping relies on acquiring dense forest reconstructions, typically in the form of point clouds. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and mobile laser scanning (MLS) generate point clouds using expensive LiDAR sensing, and have been used successfully to estimate tree diameter. Neural radiance fields (NeRFs) are an emergent technology enabling photorealistic, vision-based reconstruction by training a neural network on a sparse set of input views. In this paper, we present a comparison of MLS and NeRF forest reconstructions for the purpose of trunk diameter estimation in a mixed-evergreen Redwood forest. In addition, we propose an improved DBH-estimation method using convex-hull modeling. Using this approach, we achieved 1.68 cm RMSE, which consistently outperformed standard cylinder modeling approaches. Our code contributions and forest datasets are freely available at https://github.com/harelab-ucsc/RedwoodNeRF.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsNeRFおよびMLSによる森林再構成から樹木DBHを推定し、凸包モデルによる推定法を提案・比較検証しているため、植物形質取得手法が中心です。

abstractIn this paper, we present a comparison of MLS and NeRF forest reconstructions for the purpose of trunk diameter estimation in a mixed-evergreen Redwood forest.

Plant cell wall enzymatic deconstruction: Bridging the gap between micro and nano scales. →

Understanding lignocellulosic biomass resistance to enzymatic deconstruction is crucial for its sustainable conversion into bioproducts. Despite scientific advances, quantitative morphological analysis of plant deconstruction at cell and tissue scales remains under-explored. In this study, an original pipeline is devised, involving four-dimensional (space + time) fluorescence confocal imaging, and a novel computational tool, to track and quantify deconstruction at cell and tissue scales. By applying this pipeline to poplar wood, dynamics of cellular parameters was computed and cellulose conversion during enzymatic deconstruction was measured. Results showed that enzymatic deconstruction predominantly impacts cell wall volume rather than surface area. Additionally, a negative correlation was observed between pre-hydrolysis compactness measures and volumetric cell wall deconstruction rate, whose strength was modulated by enzymatic activity. Results also revealed a strong positive correlation between average volumetric cell wall deconstruction rate and cellulose conversion rate. These findings link key deconstruction parameters across nano and micro scales.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物細胞・組織の分解状態を定量する4次元蛍光共焦点イメージングと計算ツールが研究の中心であり、植物状態の形態的変化を抽出する方法を開発している。

abstractIn this study, an original pipeline is devised, involving four-dimensional (space + time) fluorescence confocal imaging, and a novel computational tool, to track and quantify deconstruction at cell and tissue scales.

3D Reconstruction Enables High-Throughput Phenotyping and Quantitative Genetic Analysis of Phyllotaxy →

Abstract Differences in canopy architecture play a role in determining both the light and water use efficiency. Canopy architecture is determined by several component traits, including leaf length, width, number, angle, and phyllotaxy. Phyllotaxy may be among the most difficult of the leaf canopy traits to measure accurately across large numbers of individual plants. As a result, in simulations of the leaf canopies of grain crops such as maize and sorghum, this trait is frequently approximated as alternating 180° angles between sequential leaves. We explore the feasibility of extracting direct measurements of the phyllotaxy of sequential leaves from 3D reconstructions of individual sorghum plants generated from 2D calibrated images and test the assumption of consistently alternating phyllotaxy across a diverse set of sorghum genotypes. Using a voxel-carving-based approach, we generate 3D reconstructions from multiple calibrated 2D images of 366 sorghum plants representing 236 sorghum genotypes from the sorghum association panel. The correlation between automated and manual measurements of phyllotaxy is only modestly lower than the correlation between manual measurements of phyllotaxy generated by two different individuals. Automated phyllotaxy measurements exhibited a repeatability of R 2 = 0.41 across imaging timepoints separated by a period of two days. A resampling based genome wide association study (GWAS) identified several putative genetic associations with lower-canopy phyllotaxy in sorghum. This study demonstrates the potential of 3D reconstruction to enable both quantitative genetic investigation and breeding for phyllotaxy in sorghum and other grain crops with similar plant architectures.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3D再構成とボクセル・カービングによりソルガムの葉序を自動抽出し、手動測定との比較および反復性を評価しており、表現型取得手法が研究の中心である。

abstractWe explore the feasibility of extracting direct measurements of the phyllotaxy of sequential leaves from 3D reconstructions of individual sorghum plants generated from 2D calibrated images

Evaluation of the Spike Diversity of Seven Hexaploid Wheat Species and an Artificial Amphidiploid Using a Quadrangle Model Obtained from 2D Images. →

The spike shape and morphometric characteristics are among the key characteristics of cultivated cereals, being associated with their productivity. These traits are often used for the plant taxonomy and authenticity of hexaploid wheat species. Manual measurement of spike characteristics is tedious and not precise. Recently, the authors of this study developed a method for wheat spike morphometry utilizing 2D image analysis. Here, this method is applied to study variations in spike size and shape for 190 plants of seven hexaploid (2 n = 6 x = 42) species and one artificial amphidiploid of wheat. Five manually estimated spike traits and 26 traits obtained from digital image analysis were analyzed. Image-based traits describe the characteristics of the base, center and apex of the spike and common parameters (circularity, roundness, perimeter, etc.). Estimates of similar traits by manual measurement and image analysis were shown to be highly correlated, suggesting the practical importance of digital spike phenotyping. The utility of spike traits for classification into types (spelt, normal and compact) and species or amphidiploid is shown. It is also demonstrated that the estimates obtained made it possible to identify the spike characteristics differing significantly between species or between accessions within the same species. The present work suggests the usefulness of wheat spike shape analysis using an approach based on characteristics obtained by digital image analysis.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods小麦穂の2D画像解析による形態計測法を実際に適用し、手動測定との相関検証とデジタル形質の有用性評価を行っており、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractRecently, the authors of this study developed a method for wheat spike morphometry utilizing 2D image analysis.

Lidar-derived structural-complexity data across four experimental forests. →

Structural complexity refers to the three-dimensional arrangement and variability of both biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem. Metrics that characterize structural complexity are often used to manage various aspects of ecosystem function, such as light transmittance, wildlife habitat, and biological diversity. Additionally, these metrics aid in evaluating resilience to disturbance events, including hurricanes, bark-beetle outbreaks, and wildfire. Recent advances in wildland fire modelling have facilitated the integration of forest structural complexity metrics into the QUIC-Fire model, enabling real-time prediction of fire spread and behaviour by simulating interactions between fire, weather, topography, and forest structure. While QUIC-Fire is designed to be highly adaptable, model performance depends on the availability and accuracy of local data inputs. Expanding the model's usability across different regions can be facilitated by the availability of more comprehensive and high-quality data. Thus, the primary goal behind the data products we developed was to establish a basis for collaborative research across various disciplines, particularly within the focal areas of the Southern Research Station, such as forestry, wildland fire, hydrology, soil science, and cultural resources at Bent Creek, Coweeta, Escambia, and Hitchiti Experimental Forests (EFs). Airborne laser scanning (ALS) was used to collect point-cloud data for each EF during the leaf-off season to minimize interference from foliage. Subsequent processing of the raw lidar data involved outlier detection and filtering, ground and non-ground classification, and the computation of a variety of metrics representing various aspects of topography and forest structure at both the pixel-level and the tree-level. Pixel-level topographic data products include: digital elevation model (DEM), slope, aspect, topographic position index (TPI), topographic roughness index (TRI), roughness, and flow direction. Forest structural-complexity metrics include canopy height, foliar height diversity (FHD), vertical distribution ratio (VDR), canopy rugosity, crown relief ratio (CRR), understory complexity index (UCI), vertical complexity index (VCI), canopy cover, mean vegetation height, and the standard deviation of vegetation height. Tree-level data products were computed from the point cloud using multiple algorithms to perform individual tree detection (ITD) and individual tree segmentation (ITS). The datasets have been harmonized and are openly accessible through the USDA Forest Service Research Data Archive.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods航空レーザースキャンから樹冠高、植生高、樹冠構造、個体樹木を抽出した再利用可能なデータセットであり、植物の構造形質取得と処理が中心です。

abstractAirborne laser scanning (ALS) was used to collect point-cloud data for each EF during the leaf-off season

GRABSEEDS: extraction of plant organ traits through image analysis. →

BACKGROUND: Phenotyping of plant traits presents a significant bottleneck in Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) mapping and genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Computerized phenotyping using digital images promises rapid, robust, and reproducible measurements of dimension, shape, and color traits of plant organs, including grain, leaf, and floral traits. RESULTS: We introduce GRABSEEDS, which is specifically tailored to extract a comprehensive set of features from plant images based on state-of-the-art computer vision and deep learning methods. This command-line enabled tool, which is adept at managing varying light conditions, background disturbances, and overlapping objects, uses digital images to measure plant organ characteristics accurately and efficiently. GRABSEED has advanced features including label recognition and color correction in a batch setting. CONCLUSION: GRABSEEDS streamlines the plant phenotyping process and is effective in a variety of seed, floral and leaf trait studies for association with agronomic traits and stress conditions. Source code and documentations for GRABSEEDS are available at: https://github.com/tanghaibao/jcvi/wiki/GRABSEEDS .

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物器官画像から形状・寸法・色などの形質を抽出するソフトウェア手法の開発が中心であり、植物フェノタイピング手法として明確に該当する。

abstractWe introduce GRABSEEDS, which is specifically tailored to extract a comprehensive set of features from plant images based on state-of-the-art computer vision and deep learning methods.

Auto-LIA: The Automated Vision-Based Leaf Inclination Angle Measurement System Improves Monitoring of Plant Physiology. →

Plant sensors are commonly used in agricultural production, landscaping, and other fields to monitor plant growth and environmental parameters. As an important basic parameter in plant monitoring, leaf inclination angle (LIA) not only influences light absorption and pesticide loss but also contributes to genetic analysis and other plant phenotypic data collection. The measurements of LIA provide a basis for crop research as well as agricultural management, such as water loss, pesticide absorption, and illumination radiation. On the one hand, existing efficient solutions, represented by light detection and ranging (LiDAR), can provide the average leaf angle distribution of a plot. On the other hand, the labor-intensive schemes represented by hand measurements can show high accuracy. However, the existing methods suffer from low automation and weak leaf-plant correlation, limiting the application of individual plant leaf phenotypes. To improve the efficiency of LIA measurement and provide the correlation between leaf and plant, we design an image-phenotype-based noninvasive and efficient optical sensor measurement system, which combines multi-processes implemented via computer vision technologies and RGB images collected by physical sensing devices. Specifically, we utilize object detection to associate leaves with plants and adopt 3-dimensional reconstruction techniques to recover the spatial information of leaves in computational space. Then, we propose a spatial continuity-based segmentation algorithm combined with a graphical operation to implement the extraction of leaf key points. Finally, we seek the connection between the computational space and the actual physical space and put forward a method of leaf transformation to realize the localization and recovery of the LIA in physical space. Overall, our solution is characterized by noninvasiveness, full-process automation, and strong leaf-plant correlation, which enables efficient measurements at low cost. In this study, we validate Auto-LIA for practicality and compare the accuracy with the best solution that is acquired with an expensive and invasive LiDAR device. Our solution demonstrates its competitiveness and usability at a much lower equipment cost, with an accuracy of only 2. 5° less than that of the widely used LiDAR. As an intelligent processing system for plant sensor signals, Auto-LIA provides fully automated measurement of LIA, improving the monitoring of plant physiological information for plant protection. We make our code and data publicly available at http://autolia.samlab.cn.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods葉傾斜角という植物形質を自動取得する画像ベース手法を開発し、LiDARと精度比較で検証しており、フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractwe design an image-phenotype-based noninvasive and efficient optical sensor measurement system

Genomic prediction for potato (Solanum tuberosum) quality traits improved through image analysis. →

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the most widely grown vegetable in the world. Consumers and processors evaluate potatoes based on quality traits such as shape and skin color, making these traits important targets for breeders. Achieving and evaluating genetic gain is facilitated by precise and accurate trait measures. Historically, quality traits have been measured using visual rating scales, which are subject to human error and necessarily lump individuals with distinct characteristics into categories. Image analysis offers a method of generating quantitative measures of quality traits. In this study, we use TubAR, an image-analysis R package, to generate quantitative measures of shape and skin color traits for use in genomic prediction. We developed and compared different genomic models based on additive and additive plus non-additive relationship matrices for two aspects of skin color, redness, and lightness, and two aspects of shape, roundness, and length-to-width ratio for fresh market red and yellow potatoes grown in Minnesota between 2020 and 2022. Similarly, we used the much larger chipping potato population grown during the same time to develop a multi-trait selection index including roundness, specific gravity, and yield. Traits ranged in heritability with shape traits falling between 0.23 and 0.85, and color traits falling between 0.34 and 0.91. Genetic effects were primarily additive with color traits showing the strongest effect (0.47), while shape traits varied based on market class. Modeling non-additive effects did not significantly improve prediction models for quality traits. The combination of image analysis and genomic prediction presents a promising avenue for improving potato quality traits.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsTubARによる画像解析でジャガイモの形状・皮色を定量化する手法が、ゲノム予測への主要な入力として明示されており、単なる routine 測定ではない。

abstractImage analysis offers a method of generating quantitative measures of quality traits.

An optimized live imaging and multiple cell layer growth analysis approach using Arabidopsis sepals. →

Arabidopsis thaliana sepals are excellent models for analyzing growth of entire organs due to their relatively small size, which can be captured at a cellular resolution under a confocal microscope. To investigate how differential growth of connected cell layers generate unique organ morphologies, it is necessary to live-image deep into the tissue. However, imaging deep cell layers of the sepal (or plant tissues in general) is practically challenging. Image processing is also difficult due to the low signal-to-noise ratio of the deeper tissue layers, an issue mainly associated with live imaging datasets. Addressing some of these challenges, we provide an optimized methodology for live imaging sepals, and subsequent image processing. For live imaging early-stage sepals, we found that the use of a bright fluorescent membrane marker, coupled with increased laser intensity and an enhanced Z- resolution produces high-quality images suitable for downstream image processing. Our optimized parameters allowed us to image the bottommost cell layer of the sepal (inner epidermal layer) without compromising viability. We used a 'voxel removal' technique to visualize the inner epidermal layer in MorphoGraphX image processing software. We also describe the MorphoGraphX parameters for creating a 2.5D mesh surface for the inner epidermis. Our parameters allow for the segmentation and parent tracking of individual cells through multiple time points, despite the weak signal of the inner epidermal cells. While we have used sepals to illustrate our approach, the methodology will be useful for researchers intending to live-image and track growth of deeper cell layers in 2.5D for any plant tissue.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物組織の深部をライブイメージングし、画像処理・細胞セグメンテーション・追跡によって成長を解析する方法自体が中心的に開発・最適化されているため。

abstractwe provide an optimized methodology for live imaging sepals, and subsequent image processing.

Mapping global leaf inclination angle (LIA) based on field measurement data →

Abstract. Leaf inclination angle (LIA), the angle between leaf surface normal and zenith directions, is a vital parameter in radiative transfer, rainfall interception, evapotranspiration, photosynthesis, and hydrological processes. Due to the difficulty in obtaining large-scale field measurement data, LIA is typically assumed to follow the spherical leaf distribution or simply considered constant for different plant types. However, the appropriateness of these simplifications and the global LIA distribution are still unknown. This study compiled global LIA measurements and generated the first global 500 m mean LIA (MLA) product by gap-filling the LIA measurement data using a random forest regressor. Different generation strategies were employed for noncrops and crops. The MLA product was evaluated by validating the nadir leaf projection function (G(0)) derived from the MLA product with high-resolution reference data. The global MLA is 41.47°±9.55°, and the value increases with latitude. The MLAs for different vegetation types follow the order of cereal crops (54.65°) > broadleaf crops (52.35°) > deciduous needleleaf forest (50.05°) > shrubland (49.23°) > evergreen needleleaf forest (47.13°) ≈ grassland (47.12°) > deciduous broadleaf forest (41.23°) > evergreen broadleaf forest (34.40°). Cross-validation shows that the predicted MLA presents a medium consistency (r = 0.75, RMSE = 7.15°) with the validation samples for noncrops, whereas crops show relatively lower correspondence (r = 0.48 and 0.60 for broadleaf crops and cereal crops) because of limited LIA measurements and strong seasonality. The global G(0) distribution is opposite to that of the MLA and agrees moderately with the reference data (r = 0.62, RMSE = 0.15). This study shows that the common spherical and constant LIA assumptions may underestimate the intercept capability for most vegetation. The MLA and G(0) products derived in this study would enhance our knowledge about global LIA and should greatly facilitate remote sensing retrieval and land surface modeling studies. The global MLA and G(0) products can be accessed at: Li, S. and Fang, H. 2024, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10940673.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods全球の葉傾斜角という明示的な植物形質について、測定データの補間によるプロダクト作成と独立データによる検証が中心であり、単なる生態・農業研究での routine 測定ではない。

abstractThis study compiled global LIA measurements and generated the first global 500 m mean LIA (MLA) product by gap-filling the LIA measurement data using a random forest regressor.

YOLOTree-Individual Tree Spatial Positioning and Crown Volume Calculation Using UAV-RGB Imagery and LiDAR Data →

Individual tree canopy extraction plays an important role in downstream studies such as plant phenotyping, panoptic segmentation and growth monitoring. Canopy volume calculation is an essential part of these studies. However, existing volume calculation methods based on LiDAR or based on UAV-RGB imagery cannot balance accuracy and real-time performance. Thus, we propose a two-step individual tree volumetric modeling method: first, we use RGB remote sensing images to obtain the crown volume information, and then we use spatially aligned point cloud data to obtain the height information to automate the calculation of the crown volume. After introducing the point cloud information, our method outperforms the RGB image-only based method in 62.5% of the volumetric accuracy. The AbsoluteError of tree crown volume is decreased by 8.304. Compared with the traditional 2.5D volume calculation method using cloud point data only, the proposed method is decreased by 93.306. Our method also achieves fast extraction of vegetation over a large area. Moreover, the proposed YOLOTree model is more comprehensive than the existing YOLO series in tree detection, with 0.81% improvement in precision, and ranks second in the whole series for mAP50-95 metrics. We sample and open-source the TreeLD dataset to contribute to research migration.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsUAV-RGB画像とLiDARを用いて個体樹冠体積を推定する手法を開発・評価しており、単なる樹木位置検出を超えた植物形態形質の抽出が中心です。データセット公開も行っています。

abstractwe propose a two-step individual tree volumetric modeling method

CT image-based 3D inflorescence estimation of Chrysanthemum seticuspe →

To study plant organs, it is necessary to investigate the three-dimensional (3D) structures of plants. In recent years, non-destructive measurements through computed tomography (CT) have been used to understand the 3D structures of plants. In this study, we use the Chrysanthemum seticuspe capitulum inflorescence as an example and focus on contact points between the receptacles and florets within the 3D capitulum inflorescence bud structure to investigate the 3D arrangement of the florets on the receptacle. To determine the 3D order of the contact points, we constructed slice images from the CT volume data and detected the receptacles and florets in the image. However, because each CT sample comprises hundreds of slice images to be processed and each C. seticuspe capitulum inflorescence comprises several florets, manually detecting the receptacles and florets is labor-intensive. Therefore, we propose an automatic contact point detection method based on CT slice images using image recognition techniques. The proposed method improves the accuracy of contact point detection using prior knowledge that contact points exist only around the receptacle. In addition, the integration of the detection results enables the estimation of the 3D position of the contact points. According to the experimental results, we confirmed that the proposed method can detect contacts on slice images with high accuracy and estimate their 3D positions through clustering. Additionally, the sample-independent experiments showed that the proposed method achieved the same detection accuracy as sample-dependent experiments.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsCT画像から花序内の小花と花托の接触点を自動検出し、3D位置を推定する手法の開発・精度評価が研究の中心であるため、植物フェノタイピング手法に該当する。

abstractTherefore, we propose an automatic contact point detection method based on CT slice images using image recognition techniques.

SCAG: A Stratified, Clustered, and Growing-Based Algorithm for Soybean Branch Angle Extraction and Ideal Plant Architecture Evaluation. →

Three-dimensional (3D) phenotyping is important for studying plant structure and function. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) has gained prominence in 3D plant phenotyping due to its ability to collect 3D point clouds. However, organ-level branch detection remains challenging due to small targets, sparse points, and low signal-to-noise ratios. In addition, extracting biologically relevant angle traits is difficult. In this study, we developed a stratified, clustered, and growing-based algorithm (SCAG) for soybean branch detection and branch angle calculation from LiDAR data, which is heuristic, open-source, and expandable. SCAG achieved high branch detection accuracy ( F-score = 0.77) and branch angle calculation accuracy ( r = 0.84) when evaluated on 152 diverse soybean varieties. Meanwhile, the SCAG outperformed 2 other classic algorithms, the support vector machine ( F-score = 0.53) and density-based methods ( F-score = 0.55). Moreover, after applying the SCAG to 405 soybean varieties over 2 consecutive years, we quantified various 3D traits, including canopy width, height, stem length, and average angle. After data filtering, we identified novel heritable and repeatable traits for evaluating soybean density tolerance potential, such as the ratio of average angle to height and the ratio of average angle to stem length, which showed greater potential than the well-known ratio of canopy width to height trait. Our work demonstrates remarkable advances in 3D phenotyping and plant architecture screening. The algorithm can be applied to other crops, such as maize and tomato. Our dataset, scripts, and software are public, which can further benefit the plant science community by enhancing plant architecture characterization and ideal variety selection.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsLiDAR点群からダイズの枝を検出し枝角度などの形態形質を抽出するアルゴリズムを開発・検証しており、植物表現型取得手法が研究の中心である。

abstractwe developed a stratified, clustered, and growing-based algorithm (SCAG) for soybean branch detection and branch angle calculation from LiDAR data

Phenology and Plant Functional Type Link Optical Properties of Vegetation Canopies to Patterns of Vertical Vegetation Complexity →

Vegetation vertical complexity influences biodiversity and ecosystem productivity. Rapid warming in the boreal region is altering patterns of vertical complexity. LiDAR sensors offer novel structural metrics for quantifying these changes, but their spatiotemporal limitations and their need for ecological context complicate their application and interpretation. Satellite variables can estimate LiDAR metrics, but retrievals of vegetation structure using optical reflectance can lack interpretability and accuracy. We compare vertical complexity from the airborne LiDAR Land Vegetation and Ice Sensor (LVIS) in boreal Canada and Alaska to plant functional type, optical, and phenological variables. We show that spring onset and green season length from satellite phenology algorithms are more strongly correlated with vegetation vertical complexity (R = 0.43–0.63) than optical reflectance (R = 0.03–0.43). Median annual temperature explained patterns of vegetation vertical complexity (R = 0.45), but only when paired with plant functional type data. Random forest models effectively learned patterns of vegetation vertical complexity using plant functional type and phenological variables, but the validation performance depended on the validation methodology (R2 = 0.50–0.80). In correlating satellite phenology, plant functional type, and vegetation vertical complexity, we propose new methods of retrieving vertical complexity with satellite data.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植生キャノピーの垂直複雑性という明示的な植物構造形質を、LiDAR・衛星フェノロジー・機械学習で推定し、検証する方法研究であり、測定手法が中心的です。

abstractLiDAR sensors offer novel structural metrics for quantifying these changes

Recognition and Localization of Maize Leaf and Stalk Trajectories in RGB Images Based on Point-Line Net →

Plant phenotype detection plays a crucial role in understanding and studying plant biology, agriculture, and ecology. It involves the quantification and analysis of various physical traits and characteristics of plants, such as plant height, leaf shape, angle, number, and growth trajectory. By accurately detecting and measuring these phenotypic traits, researchers can gain insights into plant growth, development, stress tolerance, and the influence of environmental factors, which has important implications for crop breeding. Among these phenotypic characteristics, the number of leaves and growth trajectory of the plant are most accessible. Nonetheless, obtaining these phenotypes is labor intensive and financially demanding. With the rapid development of computer vision technology and artificial intelligence, using maize field images to fully analyze plant-related information can greatly eliminate repetitive labor and enhance the efficiency of plant breeding. However, it is still difficult to apply deep learning methods in field environments to determine the number and growth trajectory of leaves and stalks due to the complex backgrounds and serious occlusion problems of crops in field environments. To preliminarily explore the application of deep learning technology to the acquisition of the number of leaves and stalks and the tracking of growth trajectories in field agriculture, in this study, we developed a deep learning method called Point-Line Net, which is based on the Mask R-CNN framework, to automatically recognize maize field RGB images and determine the number and growth trajectory of leaves and stalks. The experimental results demonstrate that the object detection accuracy (mAP50) of our Point-Line Net can reach 81.5%. Moreover, to describe the position and growth of leaves and stalks, we introduced a new lightweight "keypoint" detection branch that achieved a magnitude of 33.5 using our custom distance verification index. Overall, these findings provide valuable insights for future field plant phenotype detection, particularly for datasets with dot and line annotations.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsトウモロコシの葉・茎の数と成長軌跡をRGB画像から抽出する深層学習手法を開発し、精度評価も行っており、植物表現型取得が研究の中心である。

abstractin this study, we developed a deep learning method called Point-Line Net, which is based on the Mask R-CNN framework, to automatically recognize maize field RGB images and determine the number and growth trajectory of leaves and stalks.

Segment Anything for Comprehensive Analysis of Grapevine Cluster Architecture and Berry Properties. →

Grape cluster architecture and compactness are complex traits influencing disease susceptibility, fruit quality, and yield. Evaluation methods for these traits include visual scoring, manual methodologies, and computer vision, with the latter being the most scalable approach. Most of the existing computer vision approaches for processing cluster images often rely on conventional segmentation or machine learning with extensive training and limited generalization. The Segment Anything Model (SAM), a novel foundation model trained on a massive image dataset, enables automated object segmentation without additional training. This study demonstrates out-of-the-box SAM's high accuracy in identifying individual berries in 2-dimensional (2D) cluster images. Using this model, we managed to segment approximately 3,500 cluster images, generating over 150,000 berry masks, each linked with spatial coordinates within their clusters. The correlation between human-identified berries and SAM predictions was very strong (Pearson's r 2 = 0.96). Although the visible berry count in images typically underestimates the actual cluster berry count due to visibility issues, we demonstrated that this discrepancy could be adjusted using a linear regression model (adjusted R 2 = 0.87). We emphasized the critical importance of the angle at which the cluster is imaged, noting its substantial effect on berry counts and architecture. We proposed different approaches in which berry location information facilitated the calculation of complex features related to cluster architecture and compactness. Finally, we discussed SAM's potential integration into currently available pipelines for image generation and processing in vineyard conditions.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsSAMを用いたブドウ房画像からの個別果粒セグメンテーション、検証、補正、および房構造・コンパクトネス形質の算出が研究の中心であるため。

abstractThis study demonstrates out-of-the-box SAM's high accuracy in identifying individual berries in 2-dimensional (2D) cluster images.

Genome-wide association study of stem structural characteristics that extracted by a high-throughput phenotypic analysis "LabelmeP rice" in rice. →

Stem is important for assimilating transport and plant strength; however, less is known about the genetic basis of its structural characteristics. In this study, a high-throughput method, "LabelmeP rice" was developed to generate 14 traits related to stem regions and vascular bundles, which allows the establishment of a stem cross-section phenotype dataset containing anatomical information of 1738 images from hand-cut transections of stems collected from 387 rice germplasm accessions grown over two successive seasons. Then, the phenotypic diversity of the rice accessions was evaluated. Genome-wide association studies identified 94, 83, and 66 significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for the assayed traits in 2 years and their best linear unbiased estimates, respectively. These SNPs can be integrated into 29 quantitative trait loci (QTL), and 11 of them were common in 2 years, while correlated traits shared 19. In addition, 173 candidate genes were identified, and six located at significant SNPs were repeatedly detected and annotated with a potential function in stem development. By using three introgression lines (chromosome segment substitution lines), four of the 29 QTLs were validated. LOC_Os01g70200, located on the QTL uq1.4, is detected for the area of small vascular bundles (SVB) and the rate of large vascular bundles number to SVB number. Besides, the CRISPR/Cas9 editing approach has elucidated the function of the candidate gene LOC_Os06g46340 in stem development. In conclusion, the results present a time- and cost-effective method that provides convenience for extracting rice stem anatomical traits and the candidate genes/QTL, which would help improve rice.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsイネ茎断面画像から解剖学的形質を抽出する高スループット手法を開発し、形質データセット構築と検証に用いており、表現型取得法が研究の中心である。

abstracta high-throughput method, "LabelmeP rice" was developed to generate 14 traits related to stem regions and vascular bundles

A low-cost open-source imaging platform reveals spatiotemporal insight into leaf elongation and movement. →

Plant organs move throughout the diurnal cycle, changing leaf and petiole positions to balance light capture, leaf temperature, and water loss under dynamic environmental conditions. Upward movement of the petiole, called hyponasty, is one of several traits of the shade avoidance syndrome (SAS). SAS traits are elicited upon perception of vegetation shade signals such as far-red light (FR) and improve light capture in dense vegetation. Monitoring plant movement at a high temporal resolution allows studying functionality and molecular regulation of hyponasty. However, high temporal resolution imaging solutions are often very expensive, making this unavailable to many researchers. Here, we present a modular and low-cost imaging setup, based on small Raspberry Pi computers that can track leaf movements and elongation growth with high temporal resolution. We also developed an open-source, semiautomated image analysis pipeline. Using this setup, we followed responses to FR enrichment, light intensity, and their interactions. Tracking both elongation and the angle of the petiole, lamina, and entire leaf in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) revealed insight into R:FR sensitivities of leaf growth and movement dynamics and the interactions of R:FR with background light intensity. The detailed imaging options of this system allowed us to identify spatially separate bending points for petiole and lamina positioning of the leaf.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods低コスト画像計測プラットフォームとオープンソース解析パイプラインを開発し、葉の伸長・運動・角度を高時間分解能で抽出する方法が研究の中心である。

abstractHere, we present a modular and low-cost imaging setup, based on small Raspberry Pi computers that can track leaf movements and elongation growth with high temporal resolution.

Topological analysis of 3D digital ovules identifies cellular patterns associated with ovule shape diversity. →

Tissue morphogenesis remains poorly understood. In plants, a central problem is how the 3D cellular architecture of a developing organ contributes to its final shape. We address this question through a comparative analysis of ovule morphogenesis, taking advantage of the diversity in ovule shape across angiosperms. Here, we provide a 3D digital atlas of Cardamine hirsuta ovule development at single cell resolution and compare it with an equivalent atlas of Arabidopsis thaliana. We introduce nerve-based topological analysis as a tool for unbiased detection of differences in cellular architectures and corroborate identified topological differences between two homologous tissues by comparative morphometrics and visual inspection. We find that differences in topology, cell volume variation and tissue growth patterns in the sheet-like integuments and the bulbous chalaza are associated with differences in ovule curvature. In contrast, the radialized conical ovule primordia and nucelli exhibit similar shapes, despite differences in internal cellular topology and tissue growth patterns. Our results support the notion that the structural organization of a tissue is associated with its susceptibility to shape changes during evolutionary shifts in 3D cellular architecture.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3Dデジタルアトラスと神経ベースのトポロジー解析、形態計測を用いて植物器官の細胞構造と形状を定量化しており、表現型取得・解析手法が研究の中心である。

abstractHere, we provide a 3D digital atlas of Cardamine hirsuta ovule development at single cell resolution and compare it with an equivalent atlas of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Towards an objective assessment of tree vitality: a case study based on 3D laser scanning →

Key message Analyzing fine branch length characteristics in beech trees using single-tree QSMs derived from laser scanning reveals insights into drought-induced changes in vitality, which include branch shedding and reduced shoot growth. Abstract Climate change causes increasing temperatures and precipitation anomalies, which result in deteriorations of tree health and declines in ecosystem services of forests. It is therefore crucial to monitor tree vitality to preserve forests and their functions. However, methods describing tree vitality in situ are lacking reproducibility or are too laborious. Thus, we tested a laser-scanning based approach, assuming that an objective measurement of a tree’s outer shape should reveal changes according to tree vitality. QSMs of similarly sized beech trees from stands with varying degrees of drought damage were used. Absolute and relative fine branch lengths, their ratio to lower order branches’ lengths and their progressions over relative height were targeted to identify fine branch dieback and reduced growth. The absolute fine branch length was significantly lower for less vital beech trees, especially within the upper crown, leading to a less top-heavy vertical distribution of fine branches and a reduced fine-to-base order branch length ratio. Hence, height-dependent characteristics of fine branch lengths differed between vitalities. We conclude that using fine branch length characteristics derived from QSMs can be helpful in vitality assessments of beech trees. Still, uncertainties with regard to the plotwise assessment and problems with QSM quality are present.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3DレーザースキャンとQSMから枝長形質を抽出し、樹木活力を客観評価する手法が研究の中心であるため。

abstractThus, we tested a laser-scanning based approach, assuming that an objective measurement of a tree’s outer shape should reveal changes according to tree vitality.

3DFin: a software for automated 3D forest inventories from terrestrial point clouds →

Abstract Accurate and efficient forest inventories are essential for effective forest management and conservation. The advent of ground-based remote sensing has revolutionized the data acquisition process, enabling detailed and precise 3D measurements of forested areas. Several algorithms and methods have been developed in the last years to automatically derive tree metrics from such terrestrial/ground-based point clouds. However, few attempts have been made to make these automatic tree metrics algorithms accessible to wider audiences by producing software solutions that implement these methods. To fill this major gap, we have developed 3DFin, a novel free software program designed for user-friendly, automatic forest inventories using ground-based point clouds. 3DFin empowers users to automatically compute key forest inventory parameters, including tree Total Height, Diameter at Breast Height (DBH), and tree location. To enhance its user-friendliness, the program is open-access, cross-platform, and available as a plugin in CloudCompare and QGIS as well as a standalone in Windows. 3DFin capabilities have been tested with Terrestrial Laser Scanning, Mobile Laser Scanning, and terrestrial photogrammetric point clouds from public repositories across different forest conditions, achieving nearly full completeness and correctness in tree mapping and highly accurate DBH estimations (root mean squared error <2 cm, bias <1 cm) in most scenarios. In these tests, 3DFin demonstrated remarkable efficiency, with processing times ranging from 2 to 7 min per plot. The software is freely available at: https://github.com/3DFin/3DFin.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods森林個体の樹高・胸高直径などの植物形質を点群から自動抽出するソフトウェアの開発と技術検証が中心であり、植物フェノタイピング手法に該当する。

abstractwe have developed 3DFin, a novel free software program designed for user-friendly, automatic forest inventories using ground-based point clouds.

Biomass estimation of abandoned orange trees using UAV-SFM 3D points →

In smallholder areas, the abandonment of orchards is a recent phenomenon with socioeconomic and environmental consequences. Biomass estimation and monitoring of these areas is essential to analyze their influence on the CO2 balance and to quantify carbon pools. In the current context of energy supply uncertainties and considering the demanding use of alternative energy sources, the quantification of fruit tree biomass in abandoned areas is a question of great interest. In this study, the above biomass of abandoned orange trees was estimated using tree parameters calculated from 3D points derived from images captured by a UAV and applying the Structure from Motion (SfM) technique. From these data, a canopy height model was calculated and used to apply a developed crown contour detection algorithm. Using this information and 3D points, the tree parameters crown area, crown diameter, crown length, maximum tree height, minimum tree height, mean and standard deviation of crown point heights were calculated for a set of 36 felled and weighted orange trees. Stepwise regression was used to estimate the above biomass values. All previously reported variables were included. The crown area parameter produced the most accurate model with R2, RMSE and RMSE % values ​​of 0.85, 10.165 kg and 19.56 %, respectively. These results demonstrate the potential of UAV-SfM-derived 3D point clouds to estimate the above-ground biomass of abandoned fruit trees, relevant information for environmental analysis and biofuel energy production.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsUAV-SfMによる3D画像から樹冠形状・樹高などの植物形質を抽出し、樹冠検出アルゴリズムと回帰モデルで個体バイオマスを推定する方法が中心である。

abstractthe above biomass of abandoned orange trees was estimated using tree parameters calculated from 3D points derived from images captured by a UAV and applying the Structure from Motion (SfM) technique

3-dimensional surface geometry dataset of Scots pine and Norway spruce shoots from the Järvselja RAdiation transfer Model Intercomparison (RAMI) pine stand. →

Conifer shoots exhibit intricate geometries at an exceptionally detailed spatial scale. Describing the complete structure of a conifer shoot, which contributes to a radiation scattering pattern, has been difficult, and the previous respective components of radiative transfer models for conifer stands were rather coarse. This paper presents a dataset aimed at models and applications requiring detailed 3D representations of needle shoots. The data collection was conducted in the Järvselja RAdiation transfer Model Intercomparison (RAMI) pine stand in Estonia. The dataset includes 3-dimensional surface information on 10 shoots of two conifer species present in the stand (5 shoots per species) - Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce ( Picea abies L. Karst. ). The samples were collected on 26th July 2022, and subsequently blue light 3D photogrammetry scanning technique was used to obtain their high-resolution 3D point cloud representations. For each of these samples, the dataset comprises of a photo of the sampled shoot and its obtained 3-dimensional surface reconstruction. Scanned shoots may replace previous, artificially generated models and contribute to the more realistic representation of 3D forest representations and, consequently, more accurate estimates of related parameters and processes by radiative transfer models.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods針葉樹シュートの3次元形状を高解像度スキャンで取得した再利用可能なデータセットであり、植物形態の計測・表現が中心。

abstractThis paper presents a dataset aimed at models and applications requiring detailed 3D representations of needle shoots.

Precision Phenotyping of Wild Rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) to Determine Morpho-Physiological Responses under Increasing Drought Stress Levels Using the PlantEye Multispectral 3D System →

The PlantEye multispectral scanner is an optoelectrical sensor automatically applied to a mechatronic platform that allows the non-destructive, accurate, and high-throughput detection of morphological and physiological plant parameters. In this study, we describe how the advanced phenotyping platform precisely assesses changes in plant architecture and growth parameters of wild rocket salad (Diplotaxis tenuifolia L. [DC.]) under drought stress conditions. Four different irrigation supply levels from moderate to severe, required to keep 100, 70, 50, and 30% of the water-holding capacity, were adopted. Growth rate and plant architecture were recorded through the digital measure of biomass, leaf area, Canopy Light Penetration Depth, five convex hull traits, plant height, Surface Angle Average, and Voxel Volume Total. Vegetation color assessments included hue, lightness, and saturation. Vegetation and senescence indices were calculated from canopy reflectance in the red (620–645 nm), green (530–540 nm), blue (peak wavelength 460–485 nm), near-infrared (820–850 nm), and 3D laser (940 nm) ranges. The temperature, relative humidity, and solar radiation of the environment were also recorded. Overall, morphological parameters, color, multispectral data, and vegetation indices provided over 7200 data points through daily scans over three weeks of cultivation. Although a general decrease in growth parameters with increasing stress severity was observed, plants were able to maintain the same morpho-physiological performances as the control during the early growth stages, keeping both 70% and 50% of the total water-holding capacity. Among indices, the Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) contributed the most to the differentiation between different stress levels during the cultivation cycle. Across the 3 weeks of growth, statistically significant differences were observed for all traits except for the Saturation Average. Comparisons with respect to the control highlighted the strong impact of drought stress on morphological plant traits. This study provided meaningful insights into the health status of wild rocket salad under increasing drought stress.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsPlantEye multispectral3Dプラットフォームを用いた植物形態・生理形質の高スループット取得が研究の中心であり、乾燥ストレス実験への実質的なフェノタイピング適用である。

abstractThe PlantEye multispectral scanner is an optoelectrical sensor automatically applied to a mechatronic platform that allows the non-destructive, accurate, and high-throughput detection of morphological and physiological plant parameters.

Three-Dimensional Leaf Edge Reconstruction Combining Two- and Three-Dimensional Approaches →

Leaves, crucial for plant physiology, exhibit various morphological traits that meet diverse functional needs. Traditional leaf morphology quantification, largely 2-dimensional (2D), has not fully captured the 3-dimensional (3D) aspects of leaf function. Despite improvements in 3D data acquisition, accurately depicting leaf morphologies, particularly at the edges, is difficult. This study proposes a method for 3D leaf edge reconstruction, combining 2D image segmentation with curve-based 3D reconstruction. Utilizing deep-learning-based instance segmentation for 2D edge detection, structure from motion for estimation of camera positions and orientations, leaf correspondence identification for matching leaves among images, and curve-based 3D reconstruction for estimating 3D curve fragments, the method assembles 3D curve fragments into a leaf edge model through B-spline curve fitting. The method's performances were evaluated on both virtual and actual leaves, and the results indicated that small leaves and high camera noise pose greater challenges to reconstruction. We developed guidelines for setting a reliability threshold for curve fragments, considering factors occlusion, leaf size, the number of images, and camera error; the number of images had a lesser impact on this threshold compared to others. The method was effective for lobed leaves and leaves with fewer than 4 holes. However, challenges still existed when dealing with morphologies exhibiting highly local variations, such as serrations. This nondestructive approach to 3D leaf edge reconstruction marks an advancement in the quantitative analysis of plant morphology. It is a promising way to capture whole-plant architecture by combining 2D and 3D phenotyping approaches adapted to the target anatomical structures.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物の葉縁形態を3D再構築して定量化する手法を開発し、仮想葉と実葉で性能評価・検証しており、フェノタイピング手法が研究の中心である。

abstractThis study proposes a method for 3D leaf edge reconstruction, combining 2D image segmentation with curve-based 3D reconstruction.

AppleQSM: Geometry-Based 3D Characterization of Apple Tree Architecture in Orchards. →

The architecture of apple trees plays a pivotal role in shaping their growth and fruit-bearing potential, forming the foundation for precision apple management. Traditionally, 2D imaging technologies were employed to delineate the architectural traits of apple trees, but their accuracy was hampered by occlusion and perspective ambiguities. This study aimed to surmount these constraints by devising a 3D geometry-based processing pipeline for apple tree structure segmentation and architectural trait characterization, utilizing point clouds collected by a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS). The pipeline consisted of four modules: (a) data preprocessing module, (b) tree instance segmentation module, (c) tree structure segmentation module, and (d) architectural trait extraction module. The developed pipeline was used to analyze 84 trees of two representative apple cultivars, characterizing architectural traits such as tree height, trunk diameter, branch count, branch diameter, and branch angle. Experimental results indicated that the established pipeline attained an R 2 of 0.92 and 0.83, and a mean absolute error (MAE) of 6.1 cm and 4.71 mm for tree height and trunk diameter at the tree level, respectively. Additionally, at the branch level, it achieved an R 2 of 0.77 and 0.69, and a MAE of 6.86 mm and 7.48° for branch diameter and angle, respectively. The accurate measurement of these architectural traits can enable precision management in high-density apple orchards and bolster phenotyping endeavors in breeding programs. Moreover, bottlenecks of 3D tree characterization in general were comprehensively analyzed to reveal future development.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsTLS点群を用いて樹体構造を分割し、樹高・幹径・枝数・枝径・枝角度を抽出する3D表現型計測パイプラインの開発と精度評価が中心である。

abstractThis study aimed to surmount these constraints by devising a 3D geometry-based processing pipeline for apple tree structure segmentation and architectural trait characterization, utilizing point clouds collected by a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS).

From Organelle Morphology to Whole-Plant Phenotyping: A Phenotypic Detection Method Based on Deep Learning →

The analysis of plant phenotype parameters is closely related to breeding, so plant phenotype research has strong practical significance. This paper used deep learning to classify Arabidopsis thaliana from the macro (plant) to the micro level (organelle). First, the multi-output model identifies Arabidopsis accession lines and regression to predict Arabidopsis’s 22-day growth status. The experimental results showed that the model had excellent performance in identifying Arabidopsis lines, and the model’s classification accuracy was 99.92%. The model also had good performance in predicting plant growth status, and the regression prediction of the model root mean square error (RMSE) was 1.536. Next, a new dataset was obtained by increasing the time interval of Arabidopsis images, and the model’s performance was verified at different time intervals. Finally, the model was applied to classify Arabidopsis organelles to verify the model’s generalizability. Research suggested that deep learning will broaden plant phenotype detection methods. Furthermore, this method will facilitate the design and development of a high-throughput information collection platform for plant phenotypes.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods深層学習による植物画像からの系統識別・生育状態推定を開発し、時間間隔データで検証しており、植物表現型取得・推定手法が研究の中心である。

abstractThis paper used deep learning to classify Arabidopsis thaliana from the macro (plant) to the micro level (organelle).

Detection of maize stem diameter by using RGB-D cameras’ depth information under selected field condition →

Stem diameter is a critical phenotypic parameter for maize, integral to yield prediction and lodging resistance assessment. Traditionally, the quantification of this parameter through manual measurement has been the norm, notwithstanding its tedious and laborious nature. To address these challenges, this study introduces a non-invasive field-based system utilizing depth information from RGB-D cameras to measure maize stem diameter. This technology offers a practical solution for conducting rapid and non-destructive phenotyping. Firstly, RGB images, depth images, and 3D point clouds of maize stems were captured using an RGB-D camera, and precise alignment between the RGB and depth images was achieved. Subsequently, the contours of maize stems were delineated using 2D image processing techniques, followed by the extraction of the stem's skeletal structure employing a thinning-based skeletonization algorithm. Furthermore, within the areas of interest on the maize stems, horizontal lines were constructed using points on the skeletal structure, resulting in 2D pixel coordinates at the intersections of these horizontal lines with the maize stem contours. Subsequently, a back-projection transformation from 2D pixel coordinates to 3D world coordinates was achieved by combining the depth data with the camera's intrinsic parameters. The 3D world coordinates were then precisely mapped onto the 3D point cloud using rigid transformation techniques. Finally, the maize stem diameter was sensed and determined by calculating the Euclidean distance between pairs of 3D world coordinate points. The method demonstrated a Mean Absolute Percentage Error ( MAPE ) of 3.01%, a Mean Absolute Error ( MAE ) of 0.75 mm, a Root Mean Square Error ( RMSE ) of 1.07 mm, and a coefficient of determination ( R ²) of 0.96, ensuring accurate measurement of maize stem diameter. This research not only provides a new method of precise and efficient crop phenotypic analysis but also offers theoretical knowledge for the advancement of precision agriculture.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsRGB-Dカメラと画像・3D処理によりトウモロコシ茎径を非破壊測定する手法を開発し、誤差指標で精度検証しており、フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractthis study introduces a non-invasive field-based system utilizing depth information from RGB-D cameras to measure maize stem diameter

Spatial mapping of key plant functional traits in terrestrial ecosystems across China →

Abstract. Trait-based approaches are of increasing concern in predicting vegetation changes and linking ecosystem structures to functions at large scales. However, a critical challenge for such approaches is acquiring spatially continuous plant functional trait maps. Here, six key plant functional traits were selected as they can reflect plant resource acquisition strategies and ecosystem functions, including specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf N concentration (LNC), leaf P concentration (LPC), leaf area (LA) and wood density (WD). A total of 34 589 in situ trait measurements of 3447 seed plant species were collected from 1430 sampling sites in China and were used to generate spatial plant functional trait maps (∼1 km), together with environmental variables and vegetation indices based on two machine learning models (random forest and boosted regression trees). To obtain the optimal estimates, a weighted average algorithm was further applied to merge the predictions of the two models to derive the final spatial plant functional trait maps. The models showed good accuracy in estimating WD, LPC and SLA, with average R2 values ranging from 0.48 to 0.68. In contrast, both the models had weak performance in estimating LDMC, with average R2 values less than 0.30. Meanwhile, LA showed considerable differences between the two models in some regions. Climatic effects were more important than those of edaphic factors in predicting the spatial distributions of plant functional traits. Estimates of plant functional traits in northeastern China and the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau had relatively high uncertainties due to sparse samplings, implying a need for more observations in these regions in the future. Our spatial trait maps could provide critical support for trait-based vegetation models and allow exploration of the relationships between vegetation characteristics and ecosystem functions at large scales. The six plant functional trait maps for China with 1 km spatial resolution are now available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.22351498 (An et al., 2023).

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物機能形質を機械学習で推定・検証し、空間形質マップとデータセットを作成することが研究の中心であり、単なる生態学的な形質測定ではない。

abstractused to generate spatial plant functional trait maps (∼1 km), together with environmental variables and vegetation indices based on two machine learning models (random forest and boosted regression trees).

An App for Tree Trunk Diameter Estimation from Coarse Optical Depth Maps →

Trunk diameter is related to the overall health and level of carbon sequestration in a tree. Trunk diameter measurement, therefore, is a key task in both forest plot and urban settings. Unlike the traditional approach of manual measurement with a measuring tape or calipers, several recent approaches rely on sophisticated technologies such as Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS), LiDAR, and time-of-flight sensors that provide fine-grain depth maps, which are used for depth-assisted image segmentation in downstream processing. These technologies are supported only on specialized devices or high-end smartphones. We present a mobile application that uses coarse-grain depth maps derived from an optical sensor, and so can be run on most common Android devices. Moreover, we use a state-of-the-art deep neural network to estimate trunk diameter from an image and its corresponding coarse depth map (RGB-D). We tested our app using a dataset collected from four countries and under challenging conditions including occlusion, leaning trees, and irregular shapes and found that our algorithm has a MAE of 2.58 cm and an RMSE of 3.57 cm, which is comparable to accuracy from fine-grain depth maps. Moreover, diameter measurement using our app is more than 5 times faster than traditional manual surveying.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsRGB-D画像と粗い深度マップから樹幹直径を推定するモバイル手法を開発し、複数国のデータセットと困難条件で精度検証しており、植物形質取得が中心である。

abstractWe present a mobile application that uses coarse-grain depth maps derived from an optical sensor

Low-Cost Non-Contact Forest Inventory: A Case Study of Kieni Forest in Kenya →

Forests are a vital source of food, fuel, and medicine and play a crucial role in climate change mitigation. Strategic and policy decisions on forest management and conservation require accurate and up-to-date information on available forest resources. Forest inventory data such as tree parameters, heights, and crown diameters must be collected and analysed to monitor forests effectively. Traditional manual techniques are slow and labour-intensive, requiring additional personnel, while existing non-contact methods are costly, computationally intensive, or less accurate. Kenya plans to increase its forest cover to 30% by 2032 and establish a national forest monitoring system. Building capacity in forest monitoring through innovative field data collection technologies is encouraged to match the pace of increase in forest cover. This study explored the applicability of low-cost, non-contact tree inventory based on stereoscopic photogrammetry in a recently reforested stand in Kieni Forest, Kenya. A custom-built stereo camera was used to capture images of 251 trees in the study area from which the tree heights and crown diameters were successfully extracted quickly and with high accuracy. The results imply that stereoscopic photogrammetry is an accurate and reliable method that can support the national forest monitoring system and REDD+ implementation.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsステレオ写真測量を用いて樹高と樹冠径を非接触で抽出し、精度と信頼性を評価しているため、植物形質取得手法が研究の中心です。

abstractThis study explored the applicability of low-cost, non-contact tree inventory based on stereoscopic photogrammetry

AraDQ: an automated digital phenotyping software for quantifying disease symptoms of flood-inoculated Arabidopsis seedlings. →

BACKGROUND: Plant scientists have largely relied on pathogen growth assays and/or transcript analysis of stress-responsive genes for quantification of disease severity and susceptibility. These methods are destructive to plants, labor-intensive, and time-consuming, thereby limiting their application in real-time, large-scale studies. Image-based plant phenotyping is an alternative approach that enables automated measurement of various symptoms. However, most of the currently available plant image analysis tools require specific hardware platform and vendor specific software packages, and thus, are not suited for researchers who are not primarily focused on plant phenotyping. In this study, we aimed to develop a digital phenotyping tool to enhance the speed, accuracy, and reliability of disease quantification in Arabidopsis. RESULTS: Here, we present the Arabidopsis Disease Quantification (AraDQ) image analysis tool for examination of flood-inoculated Arabidopsis seedlings grown on plates containing plant growth media. It is a cross-platform application program with a user-friendly graphical interface that contains highly accurate deep neural networks for object detection and segmentation. The only prerequisite is that the input image should contain a fixed-sized 24-color balance card placed next to the objects of interest on a white background to ensure reliable and reproducible results, regardless of the image acquisition method. The image processing pipeline automatically calculates 10 different colors and morphological parameters for individual seedlings in the given image, and disease-associated phenotypic changes can be easily assessed by comparing plant images captured before and after infection. We conducted two case studies involving bacterial and plant mutants with reduced virulence and disease resistance capabilities, respectively, and thereby demonstrated that AraDQ can capture subtle changes in plant color and morphology with a high level of sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: AraDQ offers a simple, fast, and accurate approach for image-based quantification of plant disease symptoms using various parameters. Its fully automated pipeline neither requires prior image processing nor costly hardware setups, allowing easy implementation of the software by researchers interested in digital phenotyping of diseased plants.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物病徴を画像から定量化するソフトウェアの開発が研究の中心であり、苗の色・形態パラメータを自動抽出して病害症状を評価する。

abstractIn this study, we aimed to develop a digital phenotyping tool to enhance the speed, accuracy, and reliability of disease quantification in Arabidopsis.

Variation in shoot architecture traits and their relationship to canopy coverage and light interception in soybean (Glycine max). →

Background In soybeans, faster canopy coverage (CC) is a highly desirable trait but a fully covered canopy is unfavorable to light interception at lower levels in the canopy with most of the incident radiation intercepted at the top of the canopy. Shoot architecture that influences CC is well studied in crops such as maize and wheat, and altering architectural traits has resulted in enhanced yield. However, in soybeans the study of shoot architecture has not been as extensive. Results This study revealed significant differences in CC among the selected soybean accessions. The rate of CC was found to decrease at the beginning of the reproductive stage (R1) followed by an increase during the R2-R3 stages. Most of the accessions in the study achieved maximum rate of CC between R2-R3 stages. We measured Light interception (LI), defined here as the ratio of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) transmitted through the canopy to the incoming PAR or the radiation above the canopy. LI was found to be significantly correlated with CC parameters, highlighting the relationship between canopy structure and light interception. The study also explored the impact of plant shape on LI and CO 2 assimilation. Plant shape was characterized into distinct quantifiable parameters and by modeling the impact of plant shape on LI and CO 2 assimilation, we found that plants with broad and flat shapes at the top maybe more photosynthetically efficient at low light levels, while conical shapes were likely more advantageous when light was abundant. Shoot architecture of plants in this study was described in terms of whole plant, branching and leaf-related traits. There was significant variation for the shoot architecture traits between different accessions, displaying high reliability. We found that that several shoot architecture traits such as plant height, and leaf and internode-related traits strongly influenced CC and LI. Conclusion In conclusion, this study provides insight into the relationship between soybean shoot architecture, canopy coverage, and light interception. It demonstrates that novel shoot architecture traits we have defined here are genetically variable, impact CC and LI and contribute to our understanding of soybean morphology. Correlations between different architecture traits, CC and LI suggest that it is possible to optimize soybean growth without compromising on light transmission within the soybean canopy. In addition, the study underscores the utility of integrating low-cost 2D phenotyping as a practical and cost-effective alternative to more time-intensive 3D or high-tech low-throughput methods. This approach offers a feasible means of studying basic shoot architecture traits at the field level, facilitating a broader and efficient assessment of plant morphology.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods低コスト2D画像フェノタイピングを用いて、シュート構造やキャノピー被覆を定量化し、圃場での植物形態評価法としての有用性を扱っているため、フェノタイピング手法が実質的に中心である。

abstractIn addition, the study underscores the utility of integrating low-cost 2D phenotyping as a practical and cost-effective alternative to more time-intensive 3D or high-tech low-throughput methods.

The Early Dodder Gets the Host: Decoding the Coiling Patterns of Cuscuta campestris with Automated Image Processing →

Cuscuta spp., commonly known as dodders, are rootless and leafless stem parasitic plants. Upon germination, Cuscuta starts rotating immediately in a counterclockwise direction (circumnutation) to locate a host plant, creating a seamless vascular connection to steal water and nutrients from its host. In this study, our aim was to elucidate the dynamics of the coiling patterns of Cuscuta , which is an essential step for successful parasitism. Using time-lapse photography, we recorded the circumnutation and coiling movements of C. campestris at different inoculation times on non- living hosts. Subsequent image analyses were facilitated through an in-house Python-based image processing pipeline to detect coiling locations, angles, initiation and completion times, and duration of coiling stages in between. The study revealed that the coiling efficacy of C. campestris varied with the inoculation time of day, showing higher success and fastinitiation in morning than in evening. These observations suggest that Cuscuta , despite lacking leaves and a developed chloroplast, can discern photoperiod changes, significantly determining its parasitic efficiency. The automated image analysis results confirmed the reliability of our Python pipeline by aligning closely with manual annotations. This study provides significant insights into the parasitic strategies of C. campestris and demonstrates the potential of integrating computational image analysis in plant biology for exploring complex plant behaviors. Furthermore, this method provides an efficient tool for investigating plant movement dynamics, laying the foundation for future studies on mitigating the economic impacts of parasitic plants.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsCuscutaのコイリングや運動動態を画像から自動抽出するPythonパイプラインの開発・信頼性検証が研究の中心であり、植物状態・形態動態のフェノタイピング手法に該当する。

abstractSubsequent image analyses were facilitated through an in-house Python-based image processing pipeline to detect coiling locations, angles, initiation and completion times, and duration of coiling stages in between.

Temporal forecasting of plant height and canopy diameter from RGB images using a CNN-based regression model for ornamental pepper plants (Capsicum spp.) growing under high-temperature stress →

Abstract Being capable of accurately predicting morphological parameters of the plant weeks before achieving fruit maturation is of great importance in the production and selection of suitable ornamental pepper plants. The objective of this article is evaluating the feasibility and assessing the performance of CNN-based models using RGB images as input to forecast two morphological parameters: plant height and canopy diameter. To this end, four CNN-based models are proposed to predict these morphological parameters in four different scenarios: first, using as input a single image of the plant; second, using as input several images from different viewpoints of the plant acquired on the same date; third, using as input two images from two consecutive weeks; and fourth, using as input a set of images consisting of one image from each week up to the current date. The results show that it is possible to accurately predict both plant height and canopy diameter. The RMSE for a forecast performed 6 weeks in advance to the actual measurements was below 4.5 cm and 4.2 cm, respectively. When information from previous weeks is added to the model, better results can be achieved and as the prediction date gets closer to the assessment date the accuracy improves as well.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsRGB画像からCNNで植物体高と樹冠径を予測し、予測精度を評価する手法開発・検証が研究の中心であるため。

abstractThe objective of this article is evaluating the feasibility and assessing the performance of CNN-based models using RGB images as input to forecast two morphological parameters: plant height and canopy diameter.

Using high-throughput phenotype platform MVS-Pheno to reconstruct the 3D morphological structure of wheat →

Abstract It is of great significance to study the plant morphological structure for improving crop yield and achieving efficient use of resources. Three dimensional (3D) information can more accurately describe the morphological and structural characteristics of crop plants. Automatic acquisition of 3D information is one of the key steps in plant morphological structure research. Taking wheat as the research object, we propose a point cloud data-driven 3D reconstruction method that achieves 3D structure reconstruction and plant morphology parameterization at the phytomer scale. Specifically, we use the MVS-Pheno platform to reconstruct the point cloud of wheat plants and segment organs through the deep learning algorithm. On this basis, we automatically reconstructed the 3D structure of leaves and tillers and extracted the morphological parameters of wheat. The results show that the semantic segmentation accuracy of organs is 95.2%, and the instance segmentation accuracy AP50 is 0.665. The R2 values for extracted leaf length, leaf width, leaf attachment height, stem leaf angle, tiller length, and spike length were 0.97, 0.80, 1.00, 0.95, 0.99, and 0.95, respectively. This method can significantly improve the accuracy and efficiency of 3D morphological analysis of wheat plants, providing strong technical support for research in fields such as agricultural production optimization and genetic breeding.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods小麦の3D形態情報をMVS-Phenoと点群・深層学習で取得し、器官分割、形態パラメータ抽出、精度評価を行う手法研究であり、フェノタイピング手法が中心です。

abstractwe propose a point cloud data-driven 3D reconstruction method that achieves 3D structure reconstruction and plant morphology parameterization at the phytomer scale.

Orchid fruit and root movement analyzed using 2D photographs and a bioinformatics pipeline for processing sequential 3D scans. →

Premise Most studies of the movement of orchid fruits and roots during plant development have focused on morphological observations; however, further genetic analysis is required to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. A precise tool is required to observe these movements and harvest tissue at the correct position and time for transcriptomics research. Methods We utilized three-dimensional (3D) micro-computed tomography (CT) scans to capture the movement of fast-growing Erycina pusilla roots, and built an integrated bioinformatics pipeline to process 3D images into 3D time-lapse videos. To record the movement of slowly developing E. pusilla and Phalaenopsis equestris fruits, two-dimensional (2D) photographs were used. Results The E. pusilla roots twisted and resupinated multiple times from early development. The first period occurred in the early developmental stage (77-84 days after germination [DAG]) and the subsequent period occurred later in development (140-154 DAG). While E. pusilla fruits twisted 45° from 56-63 days after pollination (DAP), the fruits of P. equestris only began to resupinate a week before dehiscence (133 DAP) and ended a week after dehiscence (161 DAP). Discussion Our methods revealed that each orchid root and fruit had an independent direction and degree of torsion from the initial to the final position. Our innovative approaches produced detailed spatial and temporal information on the resupination of roots and fruits during orchid development.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3DマイクロCT、2D画像、画像処理パイプラインを用いてランの根・果実のねじれ運動を時空間的に抽出する手法が研究の中心であり、植物形態表現型の取得に該当する。

abstractWe utilized three-dimensional (3D) micro-computed tomography (CT) scans to capture the movement of fast-growing Erycina pusilla roots, and built an integrated bioinformatics pipeline to process 3D images into 3D time-lapse videos.

Cellstitch: 3D cellular anisotropic image segmentation via optimal transport →

Background Spatial mapping of transcriptional states provides valuable biological insights into cellular functions and interactions in the context of the tissue. Accurate 3D cell segmentation is a critical step in the analysis of this data towards understanding diseases and normal development in situ. Current approaches designed to automate 3D segmentation include stitching masks along one dimension, training a 3D neural network architecture from scratch, and reconstructing a 3D volume from 2D segmentations on all dimensions. However, the applicability of existing methods is hampered by inaccurate segmentations along the non-stitching dimensions, the lack of high-quality diverse 3D training data, and inhomogeneity of image resolution along orthogonal directions due to acquisition constraints; as a result, they have not been widely used in practice. Methods To address these challenges, we formulate the problem of finding cell correspondence across layers with a novel optimal transport (OT) approach. We propose CellStitch, a flexible pipeline that segments cells from 3D images without requiring large amounts of 3D training data. We further extend our method to interpolate internal slices from highly anisotropic cell images to recover isotropic cell morphology. Results We evaluated the performance of CellStitch through eight 3D plant microscopic datasets with diverse anisotropic levels and cell shapes. CellStitch substantially outperforms the state-of-the art methods on anisotropic images, and achieves comparable segmentation quality against competing methods in isotropic setting. We benchmarked and reported 3D segmentation results of all the methods with instance-level precision, recall and average precision (AP) metrics. Conclusions The proposed OT-based 3D segmentation pipeline outperformed the existing state-of-the-art methods on different datasets with nonzero anisotropy, providing high fidelity recovery of 3D cell morphology from microscopic images.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物の3D顕微鏡画像から細胞形態を抽出するセグメンテーション手法を開発し、植物データセットで性能評価・ベンチマークしているため、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractWe propose CellStitch, a flexible pipeline that segments cells from 3D images without requiring large amounts of 3D training data.

Diameter, height and species of 42 million trees in three European landscapes generated from field data and airborne laser scanning data →

Ecology and forestry sciences are using an increasing amount of data to address a wide variety of technical and research questions at the local, continental and global scales. However, one type of data remains rare: fine-grain descriptions of large landscapes. Yet, this type of data could help address the scaling issues in ecology and could prove useful for testing forest management strategies and accurately predicting the dynamics of ecosystem services. Here we present three datasets describing three large European landscapes in France, Poland and Slovenia down to the tree level. Tree diameter, height and species data were generated combining field data, vegetation maps and airborne laser scanning (ALS) data following an area-based approach. Together, these landscapes cover more than 100 000 ha and consist of more than 42 million trees of 51 different species. Alongside the data, we provide here a simple method to produce high-resolution descriptions of large landscapes using increasingly available data: inventory and ALS data. We carried out an in-depth evaluation of our workflow including, among other analyses, a leave-one-out cross validation. Overall, the landscapes we generated are in good agreement with the landscapes they aim to reproduce. In the most favourable conditions, the root mean square error (RMSE) of stand basal area (BA) and mean quadratic diameter (Dg) predictions were respectively 5.4 m2.ha-1 and 3.9 cm, and the generated main species corresponded to the observed main species in 76.2% of cases.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods航空レーザースキャンと現地データを統合して樹木の直径・樹高・種を大規模に推定する再利用可能なワークフローを提示し、交差検証で評価しているため、植物形質取得法が中心である。

abstractTree diameter, height and species data were generated combining field data, vegetation maps and airborne laser scanning (ALS) data following an area-based approach.

Performance of neural networks for prediction of asparagine content in wheat grain from imaging data →

ABSTRACT Background The prediction of desirable traits in wheat from imaging data is an area of growing interest thanks to the increasing accessibility of remote sensing technology. However, as the amount of data generated continues to grow, it is important that the most appropriate models are used to make sense of this information. Here, the performance of neural network models in predicting grain asparagine content is assessed against the performance of other models. Results Neural networks had greater accuracies than partial least squares regression models and gaussian naïve Bayes models for prediction of grain asparagine content, yield, genotype, and fertiliser treatment. Genotype was also more accurately predicted from seed data than from canopy data. Conclusion Using wheat canopy spectral data and combinations of wheat seed morphology and spectral data, neural networks can provide improved accuracies over other models for the prediction of agronomically important traits.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods画像・スペクトルデータから穀粒成分や収量などの植物形質を予測するニューラルネットワークを他手法と比較評価しており、形質推定法の性能検証が中心である。

abstractHere, the performance of neural network models in predicting grain asparagine content is assessed against the performance of other models.

A low-cost, AI-powered Measurement Verification and Reporting System for growing trees with smallholder farmers →

Limited access to low-cost tools to measure, report, and verify (MRV) tree growth with smallholder farmers limits the scaling of tree planting efforts in developing countries. Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers the potential for low-cost, reliable, and accessible measurement and verification tools to be developed for an MRV platform to scale tree planting efforts in developing countries. Here, we present an AI-powered non-contact tree diameter measurement and verification tool. We have developed an AI-powered algorithm that accurately estimates the diameter of a tree from an image of the tree with a reference object. This non-contact measurement method utilizes semantic segmentation and image processing techniques to analyze an image of the tree with the reference object. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated on 142 trees with tape-measured diameters at breast height ranging from 5 to 60 cm. A regression analysis between predicted and measured diameter values had an R 2 and an RMSE of 0.97 and 2.23 cm, respectively. Thus, using a smartphone application, the non-contact method developed here can empower anyone to accurately measure and report tree growth by just taking pictures of the trees with the reference object. The images submitted with on-farm measurements serve as data for future verification operations using the AI-powered algorithm. With the reference object serving as a unique tree identifier, a tree’s survival and diameter measurements can be tracked over time. The MRV system described here, with the developed AI-powered non-contact tree diameter measurement and verification tool, can empower organizations to plant, grow, and monitor trees with anyone, including smallholder farmers.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods画像から樹木の胸高直径という植物形質を推定するAI・セグメンテーション手法を開発し、実測値との性能検証も行っており、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractHere, we present an AI-powered non-contact tree diameter measurement and verification tool.

Harnessing Deep Learning to Analyze Cryptic Morphological Variability of Marchantia polymorpha. →

Characterizing phenotypes is a fundamental aspect of biological sciences, although it can be challenging due to various factors. For instance, the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha is a model system for plant biology and exhibits morphological variability, making it difficult to identify and quantify distinct phenotypic features using objective measures. To address this issue, we utilized a deep-learning-based image classifier that can handle plant images directly without manual extraction of phenotypic features and analyzed pictures of M. polymorpha. This dioicous plant species exhibits morphological differences between male and female wild accessions at an early stage of gemmaling growth, although it remains elusive whether the differences are attributable to sex chromosomes. To isolate the effects of sex chromosomes from autosomal polymorphisms, we established a male and female set of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from a set of male and female wild accessions. We then trained deep learning models to classify the sexes of the RILs and the wild accessions. Our results showed that the trained classifiers accurately classified male and female gemmalings of wild accessions in the first week of growth, confirming the intuition of researchers in a reproducible and objective manner. In contrast, the RILs were less distinguishable, indicating that the differences between the parental wild accessions arose from autosomal variations. Furthermore, we validated our trained models by an 'eXplainable AI' technique that highlights image regions relevant to the classification. Our findings demonstrate that the classifier-based approach provides a powerful tool for analyzing plant species that lack standardized phenotyping metrics.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物画像から形態表現型を客観的に分類・解析する深層学習手法を開発し、モデル検証と説明可能AIによる妥当性確認を行っており、表現型取得・抽出法が研究の中心である。

abstractwe utilized a deep-learning-based image classifier that can handle plant images directly without manual extraction of phenotypic features

An Advanced Software Platform and Algorithmic Framework for Mobile DBH Data Acquisition →

Rapid and precise tree Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) measurement is pivotal in forest inventories. While the recent advancements in LiDAR and Structure from Motion (SFM) technologies have paved the way for automated DBH measurements, the significant equipment costs and the complexity of operational procedures continue to constrain the ubiquitous adoption of these technologies for real-time DBH assessments. In this research, we introduce KAN-Forest, a real-time DBH measurement and key point localization algorithm utilizing RGB-D (Red, Green, Blue-Depth) imaging technology. Firstly, we improved the YOLOv5-seg segmentation module with a Channel and Spatial Attention (CBAM) module, augmenting its efficiency in extracting the tree’s edge features in intricate forest scenarios. Subsequently, we devised an image processing algorithm for real-time key point localization and DBH measurement, leveraging historical data to fine-tune current frame assessments. This system facilitates real-time image data upload via wireless LAN for immediate host computer processing. We validated our approach on seven sample plots, achieving bbAP50 and segAP50 scores of: 90.0%(+3.0%), 90.9%(+0.9%), respectively with the improved YOLOv5-seg model. The method exhibited a DBH estimation RMSE of 17.61∼54.96 mm (R2=0.937), and secured 78% valid DBH samples at a 59 FPS. Our system stands as a cost-effective, portable, and user-friendly alternative to conventional forest survey techniques, maintaining accuracy in real-time measurements compared to SFM- and LiDAR-based algorithms. The integration of WLAN and its inherent scalability facilitates deployment on Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) to improve the efficiency of forest inventory. We have shared the algorithms and datasets on Github for peer evaluations.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsRGB-D画像とアルゴリズムを用いて樹木のDBHという明示的な形態形質をリアルタイム推定し、精度検証とシステム実装を行った研究であり、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractwe introduce KAN-Forest, a real-time DBH measurement and key point localization algorithm utilizing RGB-D (Red, Green, Blue-Depth) imaging technology.

SpykProps: an imaging pipeline to quantify architecture in unilateral grass inflorescences. →

Background Inflorescence properties such length, spikelet number, and their spatial distribution across the rachis, are fundamental indicators of seed productivity in grasses and have been a target of selection throughout domestication and crop improvement. However, quantifying such complex morphology is laborious, time-consuming, and commonly limited to human-perceived traits. These limitations can be exacerbated by unfavorable trait correlations between inflorescence architecture and seed yield that can be unconsciously selected for. Computer vision offers an alternative to conventional phenotyping, enabling higher throughput and reducing subjectivity. These approaches provide valuable insights into the determinants of seed yield, and thus, aid breeding decisions. Results Here, we described SpykProps, an inexpensive Python-based imaging system to quantify morphological properties in unilateral inflorescences, that was developed and tested on images of perennial grass (Lolium perenne L.) spikes. SpykProps is able to rapidly and accurately identify spikes (RMSE 2 = 0.96), and number of spikelets (R 2 = 0.61). It also quantifies color and shape from hundreds of interacting descriptors that are accurate predictors of architectural and agronomic traits such as seed yield potential (R 2 = 0.94), rachis weight (R 2 = 0.83), and seed shattering (R 2 = 0.85). Conclusions SpykProps is an open-source platform to characterize inflorescence architecture in a wide range of grasses. This imaging tool generates conventional and latent traits that can be used to better characterize developmental and agronomic traits associated with inflorescence architecture, and has applications in fields that include breeding, physiology, evolution, and development biology.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsイネ科花序の形態を画像から定量化するPythonベースの表現型解析パイプラインを開発・検証しており、植物表現型の取得・抽出が研究の中心である。

abstractHere, we described SpykProps, an inexpensive Python-based imaging system to quantify morphological properties in unilateral inflorescences

Using natural language processing to extract plant functional traits from unstructured text →

Functional plant ecology aims to understand how functional traits govern the distribution of species along environmental gradients, the assembly of communities, and ecosystem functions and services. The rapid rise of functional plant ecology has been fostered by the mobilization and integration of global trait datasets, but significant knowledge gaps remain about the functional traits of the ∼380,000 vascular plant species worldwide. The acquisition of urgently needed information through field campaigns remains challenging, time-consuming and costly. An alternative and so far largely untapped resource for trait information is represented by texts in books, research articles and on the internet which can be mobilized by modern machine learning techniques. Here, we propose a natural language processing (NLP) pipeline that automatically extracts trait information from an unstructured textual description of a species and provides a confidence score. To achieve this, we employ textual classification models for categorical traits and question answering models for numerical traits. We demonstrate the proposed pipeline on five categorical traits (growth form, life cycle, epiphytism, climbing habit and life form), and three numerical traits (plant height, leaf length, and leaf width). We evaluate the performance of our new NLP pipeline by comparing results obtained using different alternative modeling approaches ranging from a simple keyword search to large language models, on two extensive databases, each containing more than 50,000 species descriptions. The final optimized pipeline utilized a transformer architecture to obtain a mean precision of 90.8% (range 81.6-97%) and a mean recall of 88.6% (77.4-97%) on the categorical traits, which is an average increase of 21.4% in precision and 57.4% in recall compared to a standard approach using regular expressions. The question answering model for numerical traits obtained a normalized mean absolute error of 10.3% averaged across all traits. The NLP pipeline we propose has the potential to facilitate the digitalization and extraction of large amounts of plant functional trait information residing in scattered textual descriptions. Additionally, our study adds to an emerging body of NLP applications in an ecological context, opening up new opportunities for further research at the intersection of these fields.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物機能形質を非構造化テキストから自動抽出するNLPパイプラインを開発し、複数モデルと大規模データベースで性能評価しており、形質取得・推定手法が研究の中心である。

abstractHere, we propose a natural language processing (NLP) pipeline that automatically extracts trait information from an unstructured textual description of a species and provides a confidence score.

Detection and characterization of spike architecture based on deep learning and X-ray computed tomography in barley. →

BACKGROUND: Spike is the grain-bearing organ in cereal crops, which is a key proxy indicator determining the grain yield and quality. Machine learning methods for image analysis of spike-related phenotypic traits not only hold the promise for high-throughput estimating grain production and quality, but also lay the foundation for better dissection of the genetic basis for spike development. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the most important crops globally, ranking as the fourth largest cereal crop in terms of cultivated area and total yield. However, image analysis of spike-related traits in barley, especially based on CT-scanning, remains elusive at present. RESULTS: In this study, we developed a non-invasive, high-throughput approach to quantitatively measuring the multitude of spike architectural traits in barley through combining X-ray computed tomography (CT) and a deep learning model (UNet). Firstly, the spikes of 11 barley accessions, including 2 wild barley, 3 landraces and 6 cultivars were used for X-ray CT scanning to obtain the tomographic images. And then, an optimized 3D image processing method was used to point cloud data to generate the 3D point cloud images of spike, namely 'virtual' spike, which is then used to investigate internal structures and morphological traits of barley spikes. Furthermore, the virtual spike-related traits, such as spike length, grain number per spike, grain volume, grain surface area, grain length and grain width as well as grain thickness were efficiently and non-destructively quantified. The virtual values of these traits were highly consistent with the actual value using manual measurement, demonstrating the accuracy and reliability of the developed model. The reconstruction process took 15 min approximately, 10 min for CT scanning and 5 min for imaging and features extraction, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides an efficient, non-invasive and useful tool for dissecting barley spike architecture, which will contribute to high-throughput phenotyping and breeding for high yield in barley and other crops.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsX線CT、深層学習、3D画像処理を組み合わせ、オオムギ穂の形態・構造形質を定量化する高スループット表現型計測法を開発し、手動測定で検証しているため。

abstractwe developed a non-invasive, high-throughput approach to quantitatively measuring the multitude of spike architectural traits in barley through combining X-ray computed tomography (CT) and a deep learning model (UNet).

Robotized indoor phenotyping allows genomic prediction of adaptive traits in the field. →

Breeding for resilience to climate change requires considering adaptive traits such as plant architecture, stomatal conductance and growth, beyond the current selection for yield. Robotized indoor phenotyping allows measuring such traits at high throughput for speed breeding, but is often considered as non-relevant for field conditions. Here, we show that maize adaptive traits can be inferred in different fields, based on genotypic values obtained indoor and on environmental conditions in each considered field. The modelling of environmental effects allows translation from indoor to fields, but also from one field to another field. Furthermore, genotypic values of considered traits match between indoor and field conditions. Genomic prediction results in adequate ranking of genotypes for the tested traits, although with lesser precision for elite varieties presenting reduced phenotypic variability. Hence, it distinguishes genotypes with high or low values for adaptive traits, conferring either spender or conservative strategies for water use under future climates.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsロボット化した屋内フェノタイピングによる適応形質の高スループット測定と、圃場条件への推定・整合性評価が研究の中心であり、単なる生物学的実験のルーチン測定ではない。

abstractRobotized indoor phenotyping allows measuring such traits at high throughput for speed breeding

Individual tree volume estimation with terrestrial laser scanning: Evaluating reconstructive and allometric approaches →

Accurate estimates of above-ground tree biomass within forest inventories are essential for calibration and validation of biomass mapping products based on Earth observation data. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) enables detailed and non-destructive volume estimation of individual trees, which can be converted to biomass with wood basic density. Existing TLS-based approaches range from simple geometrical features to virtual 3D reconstruction of entire trees. Validating such approaches with weight measurements is a key step before the integration of TLS or other close-range technologies into operational applications such as forest inventories. In this study, we firstly evaluate individual tree volume estimation approaches based on 3D reconstruction through quantitative structure models (QSM) against destructive reference data of 60 trees and compare them to operational allometric scaling models (ASM). Secondly, we determine the explanatory power of TLS-derived geometric parameters regarding total wood, stem, coarse wood and fine branch volume. We observe similar accuracy in merchantable (¿7 cm) wood compartments for ASMs (NRMSE = 25 %) and QSMs (NRMSE = 29 %), with QSMs showing better results for broadleaves than conifers and generally overestimating fine branch volume. Feature selection shows that a combination of stem diameters and volume of convex hulls around tree crowns has the most potential to model the entire tree volume including branches, especially for conifers. In cases where the quality of available point clouds is insufficient for QSMs, 3D information can thus still be utilised by deriving geometric parameters. The integration of crown dimension parameters into new allometric models could substantially improve the estimation of branch wood volume.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsTLSによる個体樹木の体積という植物形質の推定手法を、破壊的実測データと比較検証しており、測定・推定法が研究の中心である。

abstractTerrestrial laser scanning (TLS) enables detailed and non-destructive volume estimation of individual trees

Image-based phenotyping of seed architectural traits and prediction of seed weight using machine learning models in soybean →

Among seed attributes, weight is one of the main factors determining the soybean harvest index. Recently, the focus of soybean breeding has shifted to improving seed size and weight for crop optimization in terms of seed and oil yield. With recent technological advancements, there is an increasing application of imaging sensors that provide simple, real-time, non-destructive, and inexpensive image data for rapid image-based prediction of seed traits in plant breeding programs. The present work is related to digital image analysis of seed traits for the prediction of hundred-seed weight (HSW) in soybean. The image-based seed architectural traits (i-traits) measured were area size (AS), perimeter length (PL), length (L), width (W), length-to-width ratio (LWR), intersection of length and width (IS), seed circularity (CS), and distance between IS and CG (DS). The phenotypic investigation revealed significant genetic variability among 164 soybean genotypes for both i-traits and manually measured seed weight. Seven popular machine learning (ML) algorithms, namely Simple Linear Regression (SLR), Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Regression (SVR), LASSO Regression (LR), Ridge Regression (RR), and Elastic Net Regression (EN), were used to create models that can predict the weight of soybean seeds based on the image-based novel features derived from the Red-Green-Blue (RGB)/visual image. Among the models, random forest and multiple linear regression models that use multiple explanatory variables related to seed size traits (AS, L, W, and DS) were identified as the best models for predicting seed weight with the highest prediction accuracy (coefficient of determination, R 2= 0.98 and 0.94, respectively) and the lowest prediction error, i.e., root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE). Finally, principal components analysis (PCA) and a hierarchical clustering approach were used to identify IC538070 as a superior genotype with a larger seed size and weight. The identified donors/traits can potentially be used in soybean improvement programs

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsRGB画像から種子形態形質を抽出し、機械学習で種子重量を予測する画像ベース表現型解析が研究の中心である。

abstractThe present work is related to digital image analysis of seed traits for the prediction of hundred-seed weight (HSW) in soybean.

Detection and Reconstruction of Passion Fruit Branches via CNN and Bidirectional Sector Search. →

Accurate detection and reconstruction of branches aid the accuracy of harvesting robots and extraction of plant phenotypic information. However, the complex orchard background and twisting growing branches of vine fruit trees make this challenging. To solve these problems, this study adopted a Mask Region-based convolutional neural network (Mask R-CNN) architecture incorporating deformable convolution to segment branches in complex backgrounds. Based on the growth posture, a branch reconstruction algorithm with bidirectional sector search was proposed to adaptively reconstruct the segmented branches obtained by an improved model. The average precision, average recall, and F1 scores of the improved Mask R-CNN model for passion fruit branch detection were found to be 64.30%, 76.51%, and 69.88%, respectively, and the average running time on the test dataset was 0.75 s per image, which is better than the compared model. We randomly selected 40 images from the test dataset to evaluate the branch reconstruction. The branch reconstruction accuracy, average error, average relative error of reconstructed diameter, and mean intersection-over-union (mIoU) were 88.83%, 1.98 px, 7.98, and 83.44%, respectively. The average reconstruction time for a single image was 0.38 s. This would promise the proposed method to detect and reconstruct plant branches under complex orchard backgrounds.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsCNNによる枝の検出・再構成と直径推定を中心に、植物形態情報の抽出手法を開発・評価しているため、ロボット収穫支援に加えて再利用可能な表現型計測法に該当する。

abstractAccurate detection and reconstruction of branches aid the accuracy of harvesting robots and extraction of plant phenotypic information.

Unveiling Optimal Models for Phenotype Prediction in Soybean Branching: An In-depth Examination of 11 Non-linear Regression Models, Highlighting SVR and SHAP Importance →

Plant breeding is gaining importance as a sustainable tool to address the challenges posed by a growing global population and enhance food security. Advanced high-throughput omics technologies are utilized to accelerate crop improvement and develop resilient varieties with higher yield performance. These technologies generate vast genetic data, which can be exploited to manipulate key plant characteristics for crop improvement. The integration of big data and AI in plant breeding has the potential to revolutionize the field and increase food security. By using branching data (phenotype) of 1918 soybean accessions and 42k SNP polymorphic data (genotype), this study systematically compared 11 non-linear regression AI models, including four deep learning models (DBN regression, ANN regression, Autoencoders regression, and MLP regression) and seven machine learning models (e.g., SVR, XGBoost regression, Random Forest regression, LightGBM regression, GPS regression, Decision Tree regression, and Polynomial regression). After being evaluated by four valuation metrics: R2 (R-squared), MAE (Mean Absolute Error), MSE (Mean Squared Error), and MAPE (Mean Absolute Percentage Error), it was found that the SVR, ANN, and Autoencoder outperformed other models and could obtain a better prediction accuracy if they were used for phenotype prediction. To support the evaluation of deep learning methods, feature importance and GO enrichment analyses were conducted. After comprehensively comparing four feature importance algorithms, there was no significant difference among the feature importance ranking score among these four algorithms, but the SHAP value could provide rich information on genes with negative contributions, and SHAP importance was chosen for feature selection. The genes identified by the SVR model plus SHAP importance combination clearly grouped into three clusters on the soybean whole genome. Our GO enrichment results also confirmed the prediction accuracy of this methods combination. The results of this study offer valuable insights for AI-mediated plant breeding, addressing challenges faced by traditional breeding programs. The method developed has broad applicability in phenotype prediction, minor QTL mining, and plant smart-breeding systems, contributing significantly to the advancement of AI-based breeding practices and transitioning from experience-based to data-based breeding.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsダイズ分枝形質の予測を対象に、11種類の非線形回帰モデルを比較・評価し、SHAPによる特徴量選択も行っており、植物表現型推定手法が研究の中心である。

abstractAfter being evaluated by four valuation metrics: R2 (R-squared), MAE (Mean Absolute Error), MSE (Mean Squared Error), and MAPE (Mean Absolute Percentage Error)

SpykProps: An Imaging Pipeline to Quantify Architecture in Unilateral Grass Inflorescences →

Background: Inflorescence properties such length, spikelet number, and their spatial distribution across the rachis, are fundamental indicators of fitness and seed productivity in grasses, and have been a target of selection throughout domestication and crop improvement. However, quantifying such complex morphology is laborious, time-consuming, and commonly limited to human-perceived traits. These limitations can be exacerbated by unfavorable trait correlations between inflorescence architecture and seed yield that can be unconsciously selected for. Computer vision offers an alternative to conventional phenotyping, enabling higher throughput and reducing subjectivity. These approaches provide valuable insights into the determinants of seed yield, and thus, aid breeding decisions. Results Here, we described SpykProps, an inexpensive Python-based imaging system to quantify morphological properties in unilateral inflorescences, that was developed and tested on images of perennial grass ( Lolium perenne L.) spikes. SpykProps is able to rapidly and accurately identify spikes (RMSE < 1), estimate their length (R 2 = 0.96), and number of spikelets (R 2 = 0.61). It also quantifies color and shape from hundreds of interacting descriptors that are accurate predictors of architectural and agronomic traits such as seed yield potential (R 2 = 0.94), rachis weight (R 2 = 0.83), and seed shattering (R 2 = 0.85). Conclusions SpykProps is an open-source platform to characterize inflorescence architecture in a wide range of grasses. This imaging tool generates conventional and latent traits that can be used to better characterize developmental and agronomic traits associated with inflorescence architecture, and has applications in fields that include breeding, physiology, evolution, and development biology.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsイネ科花序の形態形質を画像から抽出するPythonベースの画像解析システムを開発・検証しており、植物フェノタイピング手法が研究の中心である。

abstractHere, we described SpykProps, an inexpensive Python-based imaging system to quantify morphological properties in unilateral inflorescences

CuticleTrace: A toolkit for capturing cell outlines of leaf cuticle with implications for paleoecology and paleoclimatology →

PremiseLeaf epidermal cell morphology is closely tied to plants evolutionary histories and growth environments, and is therefore of interest to many plant biologists. However, cell measurement can be time-consuming and restrictive with current methods. CuticleTrace is a suite of FIJI and R-based functions that streamlines and automates the segmentation and measurement of epidermal pavement cells across a wide range of cell morphologies and image qualities. Methods and ResultsWe evaluated CuticleTrace-generated measurements against those from alternate automated methods and expert and undergraduate hand-tracings across a taxonomically diverse 50-image dataset of variable image qualities. We observed [~]93% statistical agreement between CuticleTrace and expert hand-traced measurements, outperforming alternate methods. ConclusionsCuticleTrace is broadly applicable, modular, and customizable, and integrates data visualization and cell shape measurement with image segmentation, lowering the barrier to high-throughput studies of epidermal morphology by vastly decreasing the labor investment required to generate high-quality cell shape datasets.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods葉の表皮細胞形態を画像からセグメンテーション・測定するソフトウェアを開発し、代替手法および専門家の手トレースと比較検証しており、植物表現型取得法が研究の中心です。

abstractCuticleTrace is a suite of FIJI and R-based functions that streamlines and automates the segmentation and measurement of epidermal pavement cells across a wide range of cell morphologies and image qualities.

Quantifying Contributions of Different Factors to Canopy Photosynthesis in 2 Maize Varieties: Development of a Novel 3D Canopy Modeling Pipeline →

Crop yield potential is intrinsically related to canopy photosynthesis; therefore, improving canopy photosynthetic efficiency is a major focus of current efforts to enhance crop yield. Canopy photosynthesis rate ( A c ) is influenced by several factors, including plant architecture, leaf chlorophyll content, and leaf photosynthetic properties, which interact with each other. Identifying factors that restrict canopy photosynthesis and target adjustments to improve canopy photosynthesis in a specific crop cultivar pose an important challenge for the breeding community. To address this challenge, we developed a novel pipeline that utilizes factorial analysis, canopy photosynthesis modeling, and phenomics data collected using a 64-camera multi-view stereo system, enabling the dissection of the contributions of different factors to differences in canopy photosynthesis between maize cultivars. We applied this method to 2 maize varieties, W64A and A619, and found that leaf photosynthetic efficiency is the primary determinant (17.5% to 29.2%) of the difference in A c between 2 maize varieties at all stages, and plant architecture at early stages also contribute to the difference in A c (5.3% to 6.7%). Additionally, the contributions of each leaf photosynthetic parameter and plant architectural trait were dissected. We also found that the leaf photosynthetic parameters were linearly correlated with A c and plant architecture traits were non-linearly related to A c . This study developed a novel pipeline that provides a method for dissecting the relationship among individual phenotypes controlling the complex trait of canopy photosynthesis.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods64台カメラのマルチビュー・ステレオ計測によるフェノミクスデータと、キャノピー光合成モデル・因子分析を統合した新規パイプラインの開発が中心であり、植物形態形質とキャノピー光合成の関係を定量化している。

titleDevelopment of a Novel 3D Canopy Modeling Pipeline

Development of a mobile, high-throughput, and low-cost image-based plant growth phenotyping system →

Abstract Nondestructive plant phenotyping is fundamental for unraveling molecular processes underlying plant development and response to the environment. While the emergence of high-through phenotyping facilities can further our understanding of plant development and stress responses, their high costs significantly hinder scientific progress. To democratize high-throughput plant phenotyping, we developed sets of low-cost image- and weight-based devices to monitor plant growth and evapotranspiration. We paired these devices with a suite of computational pipelines for integrated and straightforward data analysis. We validated the suitability of our system for large screens by evaluating a cowpea diversity panel for responses to drought stress. The observed natural variation was subsequently used for Genome-Wide Association Study, where we identified nine genetic loci that putatively contribute to cowpea drought resilience during early vegetative development. We validated the homologs of the identified candidate genes in Arabidopsis using available mutant lines. These results demonstrate the varied applicability of this low-cost phenotyping system. In the future, we foresee these setups facilitating identification of genetic components of growth, plant architecture, and stress tolerance across a wide variety of species.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods低コストの画像・重量ベース装置と計算パイプラインを開発し、植物成長・蒸発散を測定するフェノタイピングシステムとして検証しており、手法が研究の中心である。

abstractwe developed sets of low-cost image- and weight-based devices to monitor plant growth and evapotranspiration.

Morley: Image Analysis and Evaluation of Statistically Significant Differences in Geometric Sizes of Crop Seedlings Responded to Biotic Stimulation →

Image analysis is widely applied in plant science for phenotyping and monitoring botanic and agricultural species. Although a lot of software is available, tools integrating image analysis and statistical assessment of seedling growth in large groups of plants are limited or absent, and do not cover the needs of the researchers. In this study, we developed Morley, a free, open-source graphical user interface written in Python. Morley automates the following workflow: (1) group-wise analysis of a few thousand seedlings from multiple images; (2) recognition of seeds, shoots and roots in seedling images; (3) calculation of shoot and root lengths and surface areas, (4) evaluation of statistically significant differences between plant groups, (5) calculation of germination rates, (6) visualization and interpretation. Morley is designed for laboratory studies of biotic effects on seedling growth, when molecular mechanisms underlying morphometric changes are analyzed. Performance was tested using cultivars of T. aestivum, P. sativum on seedlings of up to 1 week old. Accuracy of the measured morphometric parameters was comparable with the ones obtained using ImageJ and manual measurements. Dose-dependent laboratory tests for germination affected by new bioactive compounds and fertilizers, assuming extraction of seedlings from a substrate and/or dissection are among the suggested applications.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物の画像から種子・シュート・根を認識し、形態形質を自動抽出して統計評価するオープンソースツールの開発・精度検証が中心である。

abstractIn this study, we developed Morley, a free, open-source graphical user interface written in Python.

Digital Phenotyping in Plant Breeding: Evaluating Relative Maturity, Stand Count, and Plant Height in Dry Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) via RGB Drone-Based Imagery and Deep Learning Approaches →

Abstract Background Significant effort has been made in manually tracking plant maturity and to measure early-stage plant density, and crop height in experimental breeding plots. Agronomic traits such as relative maturity (RM), stand count (SC) and plant height (PH) are essential to cultivar development, production recommendations and management practices. The use of RGB images collected via drones may replace traditional measurements in field trials with improved throughput, accuracy, and reduced cost. Recent advances in deep learning (DL) approaches have enabled the development of automated high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) systems that can quickly and accurately measure target traits using low-cost RGB drones. In this study, a time series of drone images was employed to estimate dry bean relative maturity (RM) using a hybrid model combining Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) for features extraction and capturing the sequential behavior of time series data. The performance of the Faster-RCNN object detection algorithm was also examined for stand count (SC) assessment during the early growth stages of dry beans. Various factors, such as flight frequencies, image resolution, and data augmentation, along with pseudo-labeling techniques, were investigated to enhance the performance and accuracy of DL models. Traditional methods involving pre-processing of images were also compared to the DL models employed in this study. Moreover, plant architecture was analyzed to extract plant height (PH) using digital surface model (DSM) and point cloud (PC) data sources. Results The CNN-LSTM model demonstrated high performance in predicting the RM of plots across diverse environments and flight datasets, regardless of image size or flight frequency. The DL model consistently outperformed the pre-processing images approach using traditional analysis (LOESS and SEG models), particularly when comparing errors using mean absolute error (MAE), providing less than two days of error in prediction across all environments. When growing degree days (GDD) data was incorporated into the CNN-LSTM model, the performance improved in certain environments, especially under unfavorable environmental conditions or weather stress. However, in other environments, the CNN-LSTM model performed similarly to or slightly better than the CNN-LSTM + GDD model. Consequently, incorporating GDD may not be necessary unless weather conditions are extreme. The Faster R-CNN model employed in this study was successful in accurately identifying bean plants at early growth stages, with correlations between the predicted SC and ground truth (GT) measurements of 0.8. The model performed consistently across various flight altitudes, and its accuracy was better compared to traditional segmentation methods using pre-processing images in OpenCV and the watershed algorithm. An appropriate growth stage should be carefully targeted for optimal results, as well as precise boundary box annotations. On average, the PC data source marginally outperformed the CSM/DSM data to estimating PH, with average correlation results of 0.55 for PC and 0.52 for CSM/DSM. The choice between them may depend on the specific environment and flight conditions, as the PH performance estimation is similar in the analyzed scenarios. However, the ground and vegetation elevation estimates can be optimized by deploying different thresholds and metrics to classify the data and perform the height extraction, respectively. Conclusions The results demonstrate that the CNN-LSTM and Faster R-CNN deep learning models outperforms other state-of-the-art techniques to quantify, respectively, RM and SC. The subtraction method proposed for estimating PH in the absence of accurate ground elevation data yielded results comparable to the difference-based method. In addition, open-source software developed to conduct the PH and RM analyses can contribute greatly to the phenotyping community.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsRGBドローン画像と深層学習を用いて、乾燥豆の成熟期、株数、草高を推定する手法を開発・比較・検証しており、表現型取得が研究の中心である。

abstractThe use of RGB images collected via drones may replace traditional measurements in field trials with improved throughput, accuracy, and reduced cost.

Allometric equations for estimating peak uprooting force of riparian vegetation. →

Uprooting caused by flood events is a significant disturbance factor that affects the establishment, growth, and mortality of riparian vegetation. If the hydraulic drag force acting on riparian plants exceeds the peak uprooting force originate from their below-ground portion, it may result in the uprooting of these plants. Despite previous studies have documented and investigated the uprooting processes and factors influencing the peak uprooting force of plants, most of these studies have focused on how the root morphological traits of tree and shrub seedlings affect peak uprooting force or mainly collected data in indoor experiments, which may limit the extrapolation of the results to natural environments. To address these limitations, we assume that the peak uprooting force can be estimated by the morphological traits of the above-ground portion of the vegetation. In this study, we conducted in-situ vertical uprooting tests on three locally dominant species: Conyza canadensis , Daucus carota , and Leonurus sibiricus , in a typical riverine environment. The three species were found to have the highest abundance based on the outcomes of the quadrat method. We measured the peak uprooting force, plant height, stem basal diameter, shoot and root wet biomass, and shoot and root dry biomass of each plant and compared them between species. Furthermore, we quantified the influence of morphology on peak uprooting force. Our results showed significant differences in morphological traits and peak uprooting force among the three species. We found a significant positive correlation between peak uprooting force and the morphological traits of the three species. The peak uprooting force increases with plant size following a power law function which is analogous to allometric equations. The allometric equation provided a convenient and non-destructive method to estimate the peak uprooting force based on the above-ground morphological traits of the plants, which may help to overcome the limitations of measuring root morphological traits.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物の地上部形態から地下部に由来する最大引抜抵抗力を推定する非破壊的なアロメトリック手法を開発・提示しており、形質取得・推定が研究の中心である。

abstractThe allometric equation provided a convenient and non-destructive method to estimate the peak uprooting force based on the above-ground morphological traits of the plants

CellStitch: 3D Cellular Anisotropic Image Segmentation via Optimal Transport →

Background Spatial mapping of transcriptional states provides valuable biological insights into cellular functions and interactions in the context of the tissue. Accurate 3D cell segmentation is a critical step in the analysis of this data towards understanding diseases and normal development in situ . Current approaches designed to automate 3D segmentation include stitching masks along one dimension, training a 3D neural network architecture from scratch, and reconstructing a 3D volume from 2D segmentations on all dimensions. However, the applicability of existing methods is hampered by inaccurate segmentations along the non-stitching dimensions, the lack of high-quality diverse 3D training data, and inhomogeneity among different dimensions; as a result, they have not been widely used in practice. Methods To address these challenges, we formulate the problem of finding cell correspondence across layers with a novel optimal transport (OT) approach. We propose CellStitch, a flexible pipeline that segments cells from 3D images without requiring large amounts of 3D training data. We further extend our method to interpolate internal slices from highly anisotropic cell images to recover isotropic cell morphology. Results We evaluated the performance of CellStitch through eight 3D plant microscopic datasets with diverse anisotropic levels and cell shapes. CellStitch substantially outperforms the state-of-the art methods on anisotropic images, and achieves comparable segmentation quality against competing methods in isotropic setting. We benchmarked and reported 3D segmentation results of all the methods with instance-level precision, recall and average precision (AP) metrics. Conclusion The proposed OT-based 3D segmentation pipeline outperformed the existing state-of-the-art methods on different datasets with nonzero anisotropy, providing high fidelity recovery of 3D cell morphology from microscopic images.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物の3D細胞画像から形態を抽出するセグメンテーション手法を開発し、複数の植物データセットで性能をベンチマークしているため、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractWe propose CellStitch, a flexible pipeline that segments cells from 3D images

Spatio-temporal analysis of strawberry architecture: insights into the control of branching and inflorescence complexity. →

Plant architecture plays a major role in flowering and therefore in crop yield. Attempts to visualize and analyse strawberry plant architecture have been few to date. Here, we developed open-source software combining two- and three-dimensional representations of plant development over time along with statistical methods to explore the variability in spatio-temporal development of plant architecture in cultivated strawberry. We applied this software to six seasonal strawberry varieties whose plants were exhaustively described monthly at the node scale. Results showed that the architectural pattern of the strawberry plant is characterized by a decrease of the module complexity between the zeroth-order module (primary crown) and higher-order modules (lateral branch crowns and extension crowns). Furthermore, for each variety, we could identify traits with a central role in determining yield, such as date of appearance and number of branches. By modeling the spatial organization of axillary meristem fate on the zeroth-order module using a hidden hybrid Markov/semi-Markov mathematical model, we further identified three zones with different probabilities of production of branch crowns, dormant buds, or stolons. This open-source software will be of value to the scientific community and breeders in studying the influence of environmental and genetic cues on strawberry architecture and yield.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsイチゴ植物体の時空間的な構造形質を取得・解析するオープンソースソフトウェアを開発しており、表現型取得・解析手法が研究の中心である。

abstractwe developed open-source software combining two- and three-dimensional representations of plant development over time along with statistical methods to explore the variability in spatio-temporal development of plant architecture in cultivated strawberry.

Detection and characterization of spike architecture based on deep learning and X-ray computed tomography in barley →

Background: The cereal spike is the main harvested plant organ determining the grain yield and quality, and its dissection provides the basis to estimate yield- and quality-related traits, such as grain number per spike and kernel weight. Phenotypic detection of spike architecture has potential for genetic improvement of yield and quality. However, manual collection and analysis of phenotypic data is laborious, time-consuming, low-throughput and destructive. Results We used a barley model to develop a non-invasive, high-throughput approach through combining X-ray computed tomography (CT) and deep learning model (UNet) to phenotype spike architectural traits. We used an optimized 3D image processing methods by point cloud for analyzing internal structure and quantifying morphological traits of barley spikes. The volume and surface area of grains per spike can be determined efficiently, which is hard to be measured manually. The UNet model was trained based on two types of spikes (wheat cultivar D3 and two-row barley variety S17350), and the best model accurately predicted grain characteristics from CT images. The spikes of ten barley varieties were analyzed and classified into three categories, namely wild barley, barley cultivars and barley landraces. The results showed that modern cultivated barley has shorter but thicker grains with larger volume and higher yield compared to wild barley. The X-ray CT reconstruction and phenotype extraction pipeline needed only 5 minutes per spike for imaging and traits extracting. Conclusions The combination of X-ray CT scans and a deep learning model could be a useful tool in breeding for high yield in cereal crops, and optimized 3D image processing methods could be valuable means of phenotypic traits calculation.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsX線CT、深層学習、3D画像処理を組み合わせ、オオムギ穂の内部形態・粒形質を非破壊かつ高スループットに抽出する手法を開発しており、フェノタイピング手法が研究の中心である。

abstractWe used a barley model to develop a non-invasive, high-throughput approach through combining X-ray computed tomography (CT) and deep learning model (UNet) to phenotype spike architectural traits.

Digital whole-community phenotyping: tracking morphological and physiological responses of plant communities to environmental changes in the field →

Plant traits are informative for ecosystem functions and processes and help to derive general rules and predictions about responses to environmental gradients, global change and perturbations. Ecological field studies often use 'low-throughput' methods to assess plant phenotypes and integrate species-specific traits to community-wide indices. In contrast, agricultural greenhouse or lab-based studies often employ 'high-throughput phenotyping' to assess plant individuals tracking their growth or fertilizer and water demand. In ecological field studies, remote sensing makes use of freely movable devices like satellites or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which provide large-scale spatial and temporal data. Adopting such methods for community ecology on a smaller scale may provide novel insights on the phenotypic properties of plant communities and fill the gap between traditional field measurements and airborne remote sensing. However, the trade-off between spatial resolution, temporal resolution and scope of the respective study requires highly specific setups so that the measurements fit the scientific question. We introduce small-scale, high-resolution digital automated phenotyping as a novel source of quantitative trait data in ecological field studies that provides complementary multi-faceted data of plant communities. We customized an automated plant phenotyping system for its mobile application in the field for 'digital whole-community phenotyping' (DWCP), capturing the 3-dimensional structure and multispectral information of plant communities. We demonstrated the potential of DWCP by recording plant community responses to experimental land-use treatments over two years. DWCP captured changes in morphological and physiological community properties in response to mowing and fertilizer treatments and thus reliably informed about changes in land-use. In contrast, manually measured community-weighted mean traits and species composition remained largely unaffected and were not informative about these treatments. DWCP proved to be an efficient method for characterizing plant communities, complements other methods in trait-based ecology, provides indicators of ecosystem states, and may help to forecast tipping points in plant communities often associated with irreversible changes in ecosystems.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物群集の3次元構造とマルチスペクトル情報を取得する自動フェノタイピングシステムをフィールド用に改変・実証しており、植物表現型取得法が研究の中心である。

abstractWe introduce small-scale, high-resolution digital automated phenotyping as a novel source of quantitative trait data in ecological field studies

Analyzing Changes in Maize Leaves Orientation due to GxExM Using an Automatic Method from RGB Images. →

The sowing pattern has an important impact on light interception efficiency in maize by determining the spatial distribution of leaves within the canopy. Leaves orientation is an important architectural trait determining maize canopies light interception. Previous studies have indicated how maize genotypes may adapt leaves orientation to avoid mutual shading with neighboring plants as a plastic response to intraspecific competition. The goal of the present study is 2-fold: firstly, to propose and validate an automatic algorithm (Automatic Leaf Azimuth Estimation from Midrib detection [ALAEM]) based on leaves midrib detection in vertical red green blue (RGB) images to describe leaves orientation at the canopy level; and secondly, to describe genotypic and environmental differences in leaves orientation in a panel of 5 maize hybrids sowing at 2 densities (6 and 12 plants.m -2 ) and 2 row spacing (0.4 and 0.8 m) over 2 different sites in southern France. The ALAEM algorithm was validated against in situ annotations of leaves orientation, showing a satisfactory agreement (root mean square [RMSE] error = 0.1, R 2 = 0.35) in the proportion of leaves oriented perpendicular to rows direction across sowing patterns, genotypes, and sites. The results from ALAEM permitted to identify significant differences in leaves orientation associated to leaves intraspecific competition. In both experiments, a progressive increase in the proportion of leaves oriented perpendicular to the row is observed when the rectangularity of the sowing pattern increases from 1 (6 plants.m -2 , 0.4 m row spacing) towards 8 (12 plants.m -2 , 0.8 m row spacing). Significant differences among the 5 cultivars were found, with 2 hybrids exhibiting, systematically, a more plastic behavior with a significantly higher proportion of leaves oriented perpendicularly to avoid overlapping with neighbor plants at high rectangularity. Differences in leaves orientation were also found between experiments in a squared sowing pattern (6 plants.m -2 , 0.4 m row spacing), indicating a possible contribution of illumination conditions inducing a preferential orientation toward east-west direction when intraspecific competition is low.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsRGB画像からトウモロコシ葉の方位を推定するALAEMアルゴリズムを提案・検証し、葉の形態形質を抽出しているため、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心です。

abstractto propose and validate an automatic algorithm (Automatic Leaf Azimuth Estimation from Midrib detection [ALAEM]) based on leaves midrib detection in vertical red green blue (RGB) images to describe leaves orientation at the canopy level

Cotton plant part 3D segmentation and architectural trait extraction using point voxel convolutional neural networks →

Background Plant architecture can influence crop yield and quality. Manual extraction of architectural traits is, however, time-consuming, tedious, and error prone. The trait estimation from 3D data addresses occlusion issues with the availability of depth information while deep learning approaches enable learning features without manual design. The goal of this study was to develop a data processing workflow by leveraging 3D deep learning models and a novel 3D data annotation tool to segment cotton plant parts and derive important architectural traits. Results The Point Voxel Convolutional Neural Network (PVCNN) combining both point- and voxel-based representations of 3D data shows less time consumption and better segmentation performance than point-based networks. Results indicate that the best mIoU (89.12%) and accuracy (96.19%) with average inference time of 0.88 s were achieved through PVCNN, compared to Pointnet and Pointnet++. On the seven derived architectural traits from segmented parts, an R 2 value of more than 0.8 and mean absolute percentage error of less than 10% were attained. Conclusion This plant part segmentation method based on 3D deep learning enables effective and efficient architectural trait measurement from point clouds, which could be useful to advance plant breeding programs and characterization of in-season developmental traits. The plant part segmentation code is available at https://github.com/UGA-BSAIL/plant_3d_deep_learning .

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3D深層学習による綿花の器官分割と建築形質抽出ワークフローを開発・比較検証しており、植物フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

abstractThe goal of this study was to develop a data processing workflow by leveraging 3D deep learning models and a novel 3D data annotation tool to segment cotton plant parts and derive important architectural traits.

Geometric Morphometric Versus Genomic Patterns in a Large Polyploid Plant Species Complex. →

Plant species complexes represent a particularly interesting example of taxonomically complex groups (TCGs), linking hybridization, apomixis, and polyploidy with complex morphological patterns. In such TCGs, mosaic-like character combinations and conflicts of morphological data with molecular phylogenies present a major problem for species classification. Here, we used the large polyploid apomictic European Ranunculus auricomus complex to study relationships among five diploid sexual progenitor species and 75 polyploid apomictic derivate taxa, based on geometric morphometrics using 11,690 landmarked objects (basal and stem leaves, receptacles), genomic data (97,312 RAD-Seq loci, 48 phased target enrichment genes, 71 plastid regions) from 220 populations. We showed that (1) observed genomic clusters correspond to morphological groupings based on basal leaves and concatenated traits, and morphological groups were best resolved with RAD-Seq data; (2) described apomictic taxa usually overlap within trait morphospace except for those taxa at the space edges; (3) apomictic phenotypes are highly influenced by parental subgenome composition and to a lesser extent by climatic factors; and (4) allopolyploid apomictic taxa, compared to their sexual progenitor, resemble a mosaic of ecological and morphological intermediate to transgressive biotypes. The joint evaluation of phylogenomic, phenotypic, reproductive, and ecological data supports a revision of purely descriptive, subjective traditional morphological classifications.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods幾何学的形態計測を用いて葉や花托の形態形質を大規模に取得・解析し、ゲノムパターンとの比較に研究の中心的役割を持たせているため、植物フェノタイピング手法の実質的な適用に該当する。

abstractbased on geometric morphometrics using 11,690 landmarked objects (basal and stem leaves, receptacles)

PhytoOracle: Scalable, modular phenomics data processing pipelines →

As phenomics data volume and dimensionality increase due to advancements in sensor technology, there is an urgent need to develop and implement scalable data processing pipelines. Current phenomics data processing pipelines lack modularity, extensibility, and processing distribution across sensor modalities and phenotyping platforms. To address these challenges, we developed PhytoOracle (PO), a suite of modular, scalable pipelines for processing large volumes of field phenomics RGB, thermal, PSII chlorophyll fluorescence 2D images, and 3D point clouds. PhytoOracle aims to ( i ) improve data processing efficiency; ( ii ) provide an extensible, reproducible computing framework; and ( iii ) enable data fusion of multi-modal phenomics data. PhytoOracle integrates open-source distributed computing frameworks for parallel processing on high-performance computing, cloud, and local computing environments. Each pipeline component is available as a standalone container, providing transferability, extensibility, and reproducibility. The PO pipeline extracts and associates individual plant traits across sensor modalities and collection time points, representing a unique multi-system approach to addressing the genotype-phenotype gap. To date, PO supports lettuce and sorghum phenotypic trait extraction, with a goal of widening the range of supported species in the future. At the maximum number of cores tested in this study (1,024 cores), PO processing times were: 235 minutes for 9,270 RGB images (140.7 GB), 235 minutes for 9,270 thermal images (5.4 GB), and 13 minutes for 39,678 PSII images (86.2 GB). These processing times represent end-to-end processing, from raw data to fully processed numerical phenotypic trait data. Repeatability values of 0.39-0.95 (bounding area), 0.81-0.95 (axis-aligned bounding volume), 0.79-0.94 (oriented bounding volume), 0.83-0.95 (plant height), and 0.81-0.95 (number of points) were observed in Field Scanalyzer data. We also show the ability of PO to process drone data with a repeatability of 0.55-0.95 (bounding area).

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods植物フェノミクスのマルチモーダル画像・点群から形質を抽出する、スケーラブルで再現可能な処理パイプラインの開発と反復性評価が中心である。

abstractwe developed PhytoOracle (PO), a suite of modular, scalable pipelines for processing large volumes of field phenomics RGB, thermal, PSII chlorophyll fluorescence 2D images, and 3D point clouds.

Deep Convolutional Compressed Sensing-Based Adaptive 3D Reconstruction of Sparse LiDAR Data: A Case Study for Forests →

LiDAR point clouds are characterized by high geometric and radiometric resolution and are therefore of great use for large-scale forest analysis. Although the analysis of 3D geometries and shapes has improved at different resolutions, processing large-scale 3D LiDAR point clouds is difficult due to their enormous volume. From the perspective of using LiDAR point clouds for forests, the challenge lies in learning local and global features, as the number of points in a typical 3D LiDAR point cloud is in the range of millions. In this research, we present a novel end-to-end deep learning framework called ADCoSNet, capable of adaptively reconstructing 3D LiDAR point clouds from a few sparse measurements. ADCoSNet uses empirical mode decomposition (EMD), a data-driven signal processing approach with Deep Learning, to decompose input signals into intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). These IMFs capture hierarchical implicit features in the form of decreasing spatial frequency. This research proposes using the last IMF (least varying component), also known as the Residual function, as a statistical prior for capturing local features, followed by fusing with the hierarchical convolutional features from the deep compressive sensing (CS) network. The central idea is that the Residue approximately represents the overall forest structure considering it is relatively homogenous due to the presence of vegetation. ADCoSNet utilizes this last IMF for generating sparse representation based on a set of CS measurement ratios. The research presents extensive experiments for reconstructing 3D LiDAR point clouds with high fidelity for various CS measurement ratios. Our approach achieves a maximum peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of 48.96 dB (approx. 8 dB better than reconstruction without data-dependent transforms) with reconstruction root mean square error (RMSE) of 7.21. It is envisaged that the proposed framework finds high potential as an end-to-end learning framework for generating adaptive and sparse representations to capture geometrical features for the 3D reconstruction of forests.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods森林植生の3D構造を対象に、疎なLiDAR観測から高忠実度の3D点群を再構成する手法を開発・評価しており、植物群落の幾何学的状態の取得が中心である。

abstractwe present a novel end-to-end deep learning framework called ADCoSNet, capable of adaptively reconstructing 3D LiDAR point clouds from a few sparse measurements.

Viral infection impacts the 3D subcellular structure of the abundant marine diatom Guinardia delicatula →

Viruses are key players in marine ecosystems where they infect abundant marine microbes. RNA viruses are emerging as key members of the marine virosphere. They have recently been identified as a potential source of mortality in diatoms, a group of microalgae that accounts for roughly 40% of the primary production in the ocean. Despite their likely importance, their impacts on host populations and ecosystems remain difficult to assess. In this study, we introduce an innovative approach that combines automated 3D confocal microscopy with quantitative image analysis and physiological measurements to expand our understanding of viral infection. We followed different stages of infection of the bloom-forming diatom Guinardia delicatula by the RNA virus GdelRNAV-04 until the complete lysis of the host. From 20h after infection, we observed quantifiable changes in subcellular host morphology and biomass. Our microscopy monitoring also showed that viral infection of G. delicatula induced the formation of auxospores as a probable defense strategy against viruses. Our method enables the detection of discriminative morphological features on the subcellular scale and at high throughput for comparing populations, making it a promising approach for the quantification of viral infections in the field in the future.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods自動3D共焦点顕微鏡と定量画像解析を組み合わせ、感染に伴う珪藻の細胞形態・バイオマスを高スループットに定量する手法が研究の中心である。

abstractwe introduce an innovative approach that combines automated 3D confocal microscopy with quantitative image analysis and physiological measurements

TubAR: an R Package for Quantifying Tuber Shape and Skin Traits from Images →

Potato market value is heavily affected by tuber quality traits such as shape, color, and skinning. Despite this, potato breeders often rely on subjective scales that fail to precisely define phenotypes. Individual human evaluators and the environments in which ratings are taken can bias visual quality ratings. Collecting quality trait data using machine vision allows for precise measurements that will remain reliable between evaluators and breeding programs. Here we present TubAR (Tuber Analysis in R), an image analysis program designed to collect data for multiple tuber quality traits at low cost to breeders. To assess the efficacy of TubAR in comparison to visual scales, red-skinned potatoes were evaluated using both methods. Broad sense heritability was consistently higher for skinning, roundness, and length to width ratio using TubAR. TubAR collects essential data on fresh market potato breeding populations while maintaining efficiency by measuring multiple traits through one phenotyping protocol.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods画像解析プログラムを開発し、ジャガイモ塊茎の形状・皮 traitsを定量化して目視評価と比較検証しているため、植物表現型取得法が中心です。

abstractHere we present TubAR (Tuber Analysis in R), an image analysis program designed to collect data for multiple tuber quality traits at low cost to breeders.

Archetypes of inflorescence: genome-wide association networks of panicle morphometric, growth, and disease variables in a multiparent oat population. →

There is limited information regarding the morphometric relationships of panicle traits in oat (Avena sativa) and their contribution to phenology and growth, physiology, and pathology traits important for yield. To model panicle growth and development and identify genomic regions associated with corresponding traits, 10 diverse spring oat mapping populations (n = 2,993) were evaluated in the field and 9 genotyped via genotyping-by-sequencing. Representative panicles from all progeny individuals, parents, and check lines were scanned, and images were analyzed using manual and automated techniques, resulting in over 60 unique panicle, rachis, and spikelet variables. Spatial modeling and days to heading were used to account for environmental and phenological variances, respectively. Panicle variables were intercorrelated, providing reproducible archetypal and growth models. Notably, adult plant resistance for oat crown rust was most prominent for taller, stiff stalked plants having a more open panicle structure. Within and among family variance for panicle traits reflected the moderate-to-high heritability and mutual genome-wide associations (hotspots) with numerous high-effect loci. Candidate genes and potential breeding applications are discussed. This work adds to the growing genetic resources for oat and provides a unique perspective on the genetic basis of panicle architecture in cereal crops.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsオート麦の穂をスキャンし、手動・自動画像解析で60以上の形態形質を抽出して、再現可能な成長・形態モデルを構築している。遺伝解析を含むが、画像ベースの穂形態計測と解析ワークフローが主要な貢献である。

abstractRepresentative panicles from all progeny individuals, parents, and check lines were scanned, and images were analyzed using manual and automated techniques, resulting in over 60 unique panicle, rachis, and spikelet variables.

Image‐based assessment of plant disease progression identifies new genetic loci for resistance to Ralstonia solanacearum in tomato →

A major challenge in global crop production is mitigating yield loss due to plant diseases. One of the best strategies to control these losses is through breeding for disease resistance. One barrier to the identification of resistance genes is the quantification of disease severity, which is typically based on the determination of a subjective score by a human observer. We hypothesized that image-based, non-destructive measurements of plant morphology over an extended period after pathogen infection would capture subtle quantitative differences between genotypes, and thus enable identification of new disease resistance loci. To test this, we inoculated a genetically diverse biparental mapping population of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) with Ralstonia solanacearum, a soilborne pathogen that causes bacterial wilt disease. We acquired over 40 000 time-series images of disease progression in this population, and developed an image analysis pipeline providing a suite of 10 traits to quantify bacterial wilt disease based on plant shape and size. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analyses using image-based phenotyping for single and multi-traits identified QTLs that were both unique and shared compared with those identified by human assessment of wilting, and could detect QTLs earlier than human assessment. Expanding the phenotypic space of disease with image-based, non-destructive phenotyping both allowed earlier detection and identified new genetic components of resistance.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods画像解析パイプラインを開発し、植物形態から病害進展を定量化する方法が研究の中心であるため含める。

abstractExpanding the phenotypic space of disease with image-based, non-destructive phenotyping both allowed earlier detection and identified new genetic components of resistance.

Geometric Wheat Modeling and Quantitative Plant Architecture Analysis Using Three-Dimensional Phytomers →

The characterization, analysis, and evaluation of morphology and structure are crucial in wheat research. Quantitative and fine characterization of wheat morphology and structure from a three-dimensional (3D) perspective has great theoretical significance and application value in plant architecture identification, high light efficiency breeding, and cultivation. This study proposes a geometric modeling method of wheat plants based on the 3D phytomer concept. Specifically, 3D plant architecture parameters at the organ, phytomer, single stem, and individual plant scales were extracted based on the geometric models. Furthermore, plant architecture vector (PA) was proposed to comprehensively evaluate wheat plant architecture, including convergence index (C), leaf structure index (L), phytomer structure index (PHY), and stem structure index (S). The proposed method could quickly and efficiently achieve 3D wheat plant modeling by assembling 3D phytomers. In addition, the extracted PA quantifies the plant architecture differences in multi-scales among different cultivars, thus, realizing a shift from the traditional qualitative to quantitative analysis of plant architecture. Overall, this study promotes the application of the 3D phytomer concept to multi-tiller crops, thereby providing a theoretical and technical basis for 3D plant modeling and plant architecture quantification in wheat.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods3D小麦モデルを開発し、複数スケールの植物構造形質を抽出・定量化することが研究の中心であるため。

abstractThis study proposes a geometric modeling method of wheat plants based on the 3D phytomer concept.

Gap geometry, seasonality and associated losses of biomass – combining UAV imagery and field data from a Central Amazon forest →

Abstract. Understanding mechanisms of tree mortality and geometric patterns of canopy gaps is relevant for robust estimates of carbon stocks and balance in tropical forests, and for assessing how they are responding to climate change. We combined monthly RGB images acquired from an unmanned aerial vehicle with field surveys to identify gaps in an 18-ha permanent plot in an old-growth Central Amazon forest over a period of 28 months. In addition to detecting, we measured the size and shape of gaps, and analyzed their temporal variation and correlation with rainfall. We further described associated modes of tree mortality or branch fall and quantified associated losses of biomass. Overall, the sensitivity of gap detection differed between field surveys and imagery data. In total, we detected 32 gaps either in the images and field, ranging in area from 9 m2 to 835 m2. Relatively small gaps (

Why it matches plant phenotyping methodsUAV画像とフィールド調査を用いて森林キャノピーギャップを検出・定量化し、検出感度を比較しており、植物群落の構造状態を測定する方法の適用・検証が中心的です。

abstractWe combined monthly RGB images acquired from an unmanned aerial vehicle with field surveys to identify gaps

Multi-scale modelling predicts plant stem bending behaviour in response to wind to inform lodging resistance. →

Lodging impedes the successful cultivation of cereal crops. Complex anatomy, morphology and environmental interactions make identifying reliable and measurable traits for breeding challenging. Therefore, we present a unique collaboration among disciplines for plant science, modelling and simulations, and experimental fluid dynamics in a broader context of breeding lodging resilient wheat and oat. We ran comprehensive wind tunnel experiments to quantify the stem bending behaviour of both cereals under controlled aerodynamic conditions. Measured phenotypes from experiments concluded that the wheat stems response is stiffer than the oat. However, these observations did not in themselves establish causal relationships of this observed behaviour with the physical traits of the plants. To further investigate we created an independent finite-element simulation framework integrating our recently developed multi-scale material modelling approach to predict the mechanical response of wheat and oat stems. All the input parameters including chemical composition, tissue characteristics and plant morphology have a strong physiological meaning in the hierarchical organization of plants, and the framework is free from empirical parameter tuning. This feature of our simulation framework reveals the multi-scale origin of the observed wide differences in the stem strength of both cereals that would not have been possible with purely experimental approach.

Why it matches plant phenotyping methods風洞実験と有限要素シミュレーションを統合し、植物茎の曲げ挙動・強度という表現型を予測・説明する手法が研究の中心である。

abstractWe ran comprehensive wind tunnel experiments to quantify the stem bending behaviour of both cereals under controlled aerodynamic conditions.

PhenoTrack3D: an automatic high-throughput phenotyping pipeline to track maize organs over time →