Renu MUNJAL, Jogender BENIWAL, Arjoo DHUNDWAL, Alisha GOYAL, Anita KUMARI, Rishi K. BEHL

Accelerating Crop Breeding in the 21st Century: A Comprehensive Review of Next Generation Phenotyping Techniques and Strategies

Biotic and abiotic stress factors significantly impede crop productivity and lead to substantial economic losses. Given the projected human population of 9 billion by 2050 and the necessity to double current food production to meet the demands of this growing populace, enhancing crop productivity has become a pressing concern. In recent years, substantial progress has been made in the field of high-throughput phenotyping technologies, enabling precise measurements of desired traits and efficient screening of large plant populations under diverse environmental conditions. These advancements involve the integration of advanced robotics, high-tech sensors, imaging systems, and computing power to unravel the genetic basis of complex traits associated with plant growth and development. Furthermore, advanced bioinformatics tools have emerged to analyze the vast amounts of multi-dimensional, high-resolution data collected through phenotyping at both the genetic and whole-plant levels, considering specific environmental conditions and management practices. The integration of genotyping and phenotyping approaches facilitates a comprehensive understanding of gene functions and their responses to various environmental stimuli. This integrated approach holds significant promise for identifying solutions to the major constraints limiting crop production. This review focuses on the recent breakthroughs in plant phenomics and various imaging techniques, emphasizing the applications of different high-throughput technologies in both controlled and natural field conditions. These advancements are crucial steps towards addressing the challenges posed by stress factors and ultimately achieving sustainable and increased crop yields to meet the demands of the growing global population.

Keywords:

Genotyping, high throughput, imaging, phenotyping, sensors, stress,

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