Sensing Technologies for Precision Phenotyping in Vegetable Crops: Current Status and Future Challenges

• Main Authors: Pasquale Tripodi, Daniele Massa, Accursio Venezia, Teodoro Cardi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-04-01
• Series: Agronomy
• Subjects: digital imaging; genomics; phenomics; plant breeding; greenhouse horticulture; advanced crop management; automation; vegetation indices; optical sensors; fluorescence
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/8/4/57

Increasing the ability to investigate plant functions and structure through non-invasive methods with high accuracy has become a major target in plant breeding and precision agriculture. Emerging approaches in plant phenotyping play a key role in unraveling quantitative traits responsible for growth, production, quality, and resistance to various stresses. Beyond fully automatic phenotyping systems, several promising technologies can help accurately characterize a wide range of plant traits at affordable costs and with high-throughput. In this review, we revisit the principles of proximal and remote sensing, describing the application of non-invasive devices for precision phenotyping applied to the protected horticulture. Potentiality and constraints of big data management and integration with “omics” disciplines will also be discussed.