IPK’s PhenoSphere is a world-wide unique plant cultivation facility and is now fully operational. On an area of 1000 m² in four individual compartments, plants grow under strictly controlled, dynamic, field-like environmental conditions (light, air temperature, humidity, and CO2 concentration, soil temperature, watering and fertilization). It is designed to run purpose-built cultivation scenarios (with typical fluctuations of light and air conditions including wind simulation) in a highly reproducible manner to assess the performance of different genotypes of major crop species. Supported through the DPPN project, two plant phenotyping systems were recently installed rendering this unique research infrastructure fully functional now:
The Rhizotron System enables plant phenotyping for root and shoot traits in up to 360 large rhizoboxes to assess dynamics of growth and developmental diversity.
In the Container/PhenoCrane System, plants are cultivated in stands simulating field plots of 1 m² in up to 108 large-volume containers with 1 m soil depth in field-like layered soil. Plant growth and performance can be assessed using the PhenoCrane, an automated multi- imaging device on an xyz positioning system equipped with RGB cameras, 3D laser scanners, a VNIR hyperspectral camera (350 – 900 nm) and a FluorCam system for kinetic chlorophyll fluorescence imaging. The combination of field-like growth conditions in large-volume soil containers with the PhenoCrane enables the assessment of plants exposed to precisely controlled and adjustable environmental conditions very similar to open fields to study their performance in various current and future climate scenarios and to perform systems biology analyzes to gain a mechanistic understanding of the underlying dynamic biological processes.
In the Tier 3 phase of CAPITALISE phenotyping experiments, the PhenoSphere will be used to analyze the phenotypic properties of selected maize lines under dynamic environmental conditions, especially light fluctuations. The climate regime would include simulated weather conditions that are likely to occur in future if climate change proceeds as expected. The PhenoCrane will be used to repeatedly assess image-derived traits along with regular monitoring of photosystem II status and efficiency throughout the plant’s life cycle.
