Field Book: use in phenotypic data collection in rose breeding

Abstract

Phenotypic evaluation of genotypes has traditionally been done by plant breeders using a pen and paper. Most breeding programs record data on paper then later enter it into spreadsheets. However, this traditional method permits more mistakes in data entry and delays the accessibility of the data to the breeder for analysis. Previous attempts at data collection directly into spreadsheets has proved cumbersome and ineffective at replacing the antiquated methods of pen and paper. Field Book, an open source Android application developed for the collection of phenotypic data of wheat germplasm by Trevor Rife and Jesse Poland at Kansas State University, has been successfully adopted for phenotypic data collection in the Texas A&M Rose Breeding and Genetics Program. The software loaded on an Android powered tablet or a phone is used to collect phenotypic data of garden roses looking at traits of flower intensity, disease severity [black spot (Diplocarpon rosae), cercospora (Cercospora rosicola), and powdery mildew (Podosphaera pannosa)], defoliation, flower rating, flower cleaning, overall landscape ranking, along with any additional breeder notes associated with disease and/or growth patterns. Furthermore, pictures taken are automatically associated with the plant being evaluated. The use of Field Book has saved time and has avoided transcription errors by exporting the data directly to spreadsheets bringing phenotypic data collection fully into the computer age.