Automatically tracking the growth, development, and disease progression of plants with Helios

Tracking the growth and development of over a thousand plants fully automatically while observing how microorganisms influence them is now possible with Helios, a new research facility that is part of the Netherlands Plant Eco-phenotyping Centre (NPEC).

Helios consists of a growth chamber, a system of conveyor belts, various specialized cameras, and a 3D laser scanner. Researcher Bart Schimmel is initiating the installation, housed in the NPEC building at Utrecht Science Park, with an experiment examining how the plant pathogen Bremia lactucae, the cause of downy mildew, can be detected early on and in an objective manner in infected lettuce plants.

Read the article: Fully automatic monitoring of plant growth, development and disease progression with Helios – uu.nl