Abstract
SummaryTo optimize shoot growth and structure of cereals, we need to understand the genetic components controlling initiation and elongation. While measuring total shoot growth at high throughput using 2D imaging has progressed, recovering the 3D shoot structure of small grain cereals at a large scale is still challenging. Here, we present a method for measuring defined individual leaves of cereals, such as wheat and barley, using few images. Plant shoot modelling over time was used to measure the initiation and elongation of leaves in a bi‐parental barley mapping population under low and high soil salinity. We detected quantitative trait loci (QTL) related to shoot growth per se, using both simple 2D total shoot measurements and our approach of measuring individual leaves. In addition, we detected QTL specific to leaf elongation and not to total shoot size. Of particular importance was the detection of a QTL on chromosome 3H specific to the early responses of leaf elongation to salt stress, a locus that could not be detected without the computer vision tools developed in this study.
Highlights
Small grain cereals are the staple food for the majority of the world’s population, with a combined harvest of 1.6 billion tons in 2016 for rice, wheat and barley alone
As there are many 3D objects which will produce the same silhouette in an image, these approaches can require a large number of images to determine the correct structure
In this study we demonstrate that from a small set of images it is possible to reconstruct and track shoot structure using only the silhouette of the plant in each view, by applying prior knowledge of plant structure to determine the most likely structure from the possible 3D shapes which match the silhouettes
Summary
Small grain cereals are the staple food for the majority of the world’s population, with a combined harvest of 1.6 billion tons in 2016 for rice, wheat and barley alone (http://www.fao.org/faostat/). To ensure sufficient cereal production for a growing population, the current rate of yield improvement in cereals has to grow by more than 35% (Tester and Langridge, 2010). Modern cultivars will need to combine superior stress tolerance with a high yield potential. Gains in yield stability and yield potential in the future will rely on improved resource use efficiency and optimized shoot growth (Sheehy et al, 2001, Parry et al, 2011, Reynolds et al, 2011, Sheehy and Mitchell, 2015). Large scale studies of shoot growth are essential
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