Constructing a Three-Dimensional Resource Database of Plants Using Measured in situ Morphological Data

Abstract

Abstract. 3D modeling of plants forms the basis of functional-structural plant modeling (FSPM) and digital plant research, and also plays an important role in research on plant phenotypes and germplasm resource protection. To provide high fidelity 3D models with complete agronomic information for research and applications, this study constructed a 3D visual database of plants. First, measured morphological data that included 3D digital data, 3D point clouds, and texture mapping images were acquired for different precision requirements. To set unified access rules for the database, a standard for the morphological data acquisition of plants was proposed. This data acquisition standard directs how 3D digital data, 3D point clouds, and texture imaging features of organs and plants are acquired. It also specifies the agronomic information that must be collected to guarantee the completeness of the morphological data record, such as the plant cultivar, growth period, planting density, water, and fertilizer treatment. Next, geometric models of plants and organs were generated using parametric plant modeling methods and geometric modeling based on point clouds using the acquired data. Finally, a plant 3D resource database was constructed by selecting those plant resources that contained two classes of database keywords: agronomy attribute keywords and 3D attribute keywords. The database contains a large number of plant models of different species, cultivars, and multiple growth periods with agronomic parameters and a high level of detail. The creation of such a database promotes the role of digital plant records in agricultural research and production. Keywords: Agricultural research, Agronomic parameters, Database, Geometric model, Morphology, Plants, Three-dimensional data.