Method and apparatus to determine the start of flowering in plants

Abstract

The present invention relates generally to the field of plant breeding and concerns a method for determining the point at which a plant starts to flower. More specifically, the invention concerns a method for determining the start of flowering on an individual plant basis by measuring the reproductive structures of plants from digital images of these structures and deducing the start of flowering from the measurements and average growth rates. The invention also concerns apparatus for determining the start of flowering in plants, particularly in a high-throughput manner.

Description

technical field The present invention relates generally to the field of plant breeding and a method of determining the point in time at which a plant begins to flower. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for determining the onset of flowering on an individual plant basis by measuring the reproductive structure from a digital image of the reproductive structure and by inferring the onset of flowering from this measurement and the average growth rate. The invention also relates to a device for determining the onset of flowering in plants, particularly with high output. Background technique The growth of plants consists of two phases, the vegetative and reproductive phases; the transition between these two phases indicates the onset of flowering. During the vegetative phase, the plant enlarges light-accepting structures (usually stems, leaves, and other green parts) and nutrient-harvesting structures (usually roots). During the reproductive phase, pla...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

In addition, in order to ensure good breeding, the resolution of flowering time is expected to be between one and two days, which usually requires daily observations at the pre-flowering or post-flowering stage; of course, it also requires a lot of manpower

The influence of some variables can be controlled, or at least minimized, for example by having the same person making the observations, but other factors are much more difficult to control, especially in the field

Images