Towards the synthesis of spectral imaging and machine learning-based approaches for non-invasive phenotyping of plants

Biophys Rev. 2023 Sep 4;15(5):939-946. doi: 10.1007/s12551-023-01125-x. eCollection 2023 Oct.

Abstract

High-throughput phenotyping is now central to the progress of plant sciences, accelerated breeding, and precision farming. The power of phenotyping comes from the automated, rapid, non-invasive collection of large datasets describing plant objects. In this context, the goal of extracting relevant information from different kinds of images is of paramount importance. We review both the spectral and machine learning-based approaches to imaging of plants for the purpose of their phenotyping. The advantages and drawbacks of both approaches will be discussed with a focus on the monitoring of plants. We argue that an emerging approach combining the strengths of the spectral and the machine learning-based approaches will remain a promising direction in plant phenotyping in the nearest future.

Keywords: Hyperspectral imaging; Image analysis; Machine learning; Plant phenotyping; Precision farming.

Publication types

  • Review