Deeper Phenotyping Platform

Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) will develop DEEPER, a platform for identifying the traits of deeper-rooted crops that integrates breakthroughs in nondestructive field phenotyping of rooting depth, root modeling, high-throughput 3D imaging of root architecture and anatomy, gene discovery, and genomic selection modeling. The platform will be deployed to observe maize (corn) in the field under drought, nitrogen stress, and non-stressed conditions. Their key sensor innovation is to measure leaf elemental composition with x-ray fluorescence, and use it as a proxy for rooting depth. This above-ground, high throughput measurement for root depth will enable plant breeders to screen large populations and develop deep rooted commercial varieties. The team will also develop an automated imaging system for excavated roots that, with associated computer vision software, will identify architectural traits of roots. Lastly, they will greatly enhance a laser-based imaging platform to determine root anatomy. The combination of these technology platforms with advanced computational models developed for this program will allow Penn State to determine the depth of plant roots, enabling better quantification of root biomass. As a full system platform, they aim to enable the breeding of maize with deeper roots that sequester more carbon and are more efficient in their utilization of nitrogen and water. The team will also contribute data to a nationwide dataset that seeks to study the interactions between genes and the environment. The dataset will include extensive plant data across multiple environments, a breeding toolkit of major genes regulating root depth, and genomic selection models for root depth, drought tolerance, and nitrogen use efficiency.