Field plant characterization method based on a multi-wavelength line profiling system

Abstract

Phenotyping of plant characteristics is essential for plant breeding. Especially the growth stages of plants during field emergence, described by parameters such as plant height and plant counting, are of interest. But large-scale manual phenotyping is very inconvenient due to the workload, the harsh weather conditions, and time-consumption. Therefore, an automated system is needed. This research describes a field plant characterization method implemented in a plot divider machine for rapeseeds. The method consists of a plant height estimation and a plant counting system. Based on a multi-wavelength line profiling (MWLP) sensor system, the 2D and 3D point cloud information from visible wavelengths to near-infrared (NIR) are automatically mapped without any need for a matching method. The plant characterization processes consist of two main steps, 1) plant detection, and 2) height estimation. These processes use the 2D NIR and 3D point cloud as the main features. The proposed method was demonstrated with highly accurate results in several rapeseeds, illustrating the potential of this method to become a basic tool for crop characterization in plant sciences