Module 5 – GreenHouse phenotyping

This research module comprises a greenhouse full with equipment, sensors and cameras to analyse large numbers of plants. Plants can be placed on conveyor belts for a three-dimensional scan that provides insight into a variety of properties: from the length of the stem to the size, colour and position of the leaves. The greenhouse is also equipped with sensors that analyse chlorophyll fluorescence, a measure of photosynthesis in the plant. The greenhouse has thermal and 3D cameras that can be positioned directly above the plants on a mobile gantry, so the researchers can study plants without moving them, such as quinoa plants that are grown on scales to measure changes in evaporation rates in response to salinification of the soil.

The greenhouse is ready to run your experiment, please fill out the form below if you would like to request a research question or experiment with our tools and equipment.

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Research trial with 0.200 and 300 mM salt (NaCl); 300 mM salt is about 75% salinity of sea water. Abiotic stress will also be investigated, especially the genetic variation due to for instance drought stress.

Contact

Lucas Schmitz

Experts

Dr. Robert van Loo
Dr. Elias Kaiser
Dr. Gerard van der Linde
Prof. dr. ir. LFM (Leo) Marcelis
Drs. Rick van de Zedde
Dr. Rene Klein Lankhorst

Tools and equipment

3D imaging – the Maxi-MARVIN

The Maxi-Marvin is a high throughput plant phenotyping device which has been developed in-house by Wageningen University & Research.
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Bespoke conveyor system and gantries

SMO, the Belgian machine builder, is in charge of installing the bespoke conveyor system and two gantries to make optimal use of the NPEC greenhouse facilities.
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Imaging with CropReporter

PhenoVation, the camera system manufacturer, will provide the CropReporter. This cabinet with a monochrome camera and a filter wheel will provide whole plant imaging on a pixel scale.
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Innovative technologies in the NPEC greenhouse

Bosman Van Zaal has built the NPEC greenhouse on the Wageningen Campus, the design was developed by WUR with advice from PhenoKey.
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PlantEye – 3D & Multispectral “Camera to Plant” laser scanners

The PlantEye is a unique 3D laser scanner which fuses the 3D data with multispectral information.
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RGB sideview imaging

The RGB sideview imaging tool is able to rotate pots 360° while making RGB sideview pictures from the plant. The number of angles/images can be set for each measurement session.
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Whole plant phenotyping with the Plantarray

Plant-Ditech, the Israeli Company of Research Excellence, will deliver the Plantarray system in the NPEC greenhouse.
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Module 1

Ecotron

NPEC's ecotron module consists of a range of fully closed and controlled mesocosm systems that allow for real-life plant (agro-) ecosystem analyses in real time.

Module 2

Plant-Microbe Interactions phenotyping

NPEC's Helios phenotyping facility for the quantitive description of shoot architectural traits and the localisation and quantification of fluorescent proteins expressed by plant shoots or associated microorganisms.

Module 3

Multi-Environment climate chamber

NPEC's multi-environment module will host a series of 15 small climate chambers with the highest level of homogeneity in temperature, humidity and light intensity available.

Module 4

High-Throughput Phenotyping climate chamber

The Robin PSI PlantScreenTM system is an independent device which can be used to create a digital phenotype of individual plants.

Module 5

GreenHouse phenotyping

The fully automated NPEC greenhouse is equipped with conveyors and gantries to collect large scale phenotypic data.

Module 6

Open-Field phenotyping

The NPEC Open Field module consists of one easily transportable vehicle, the TraitSeeker and three UAVs, all equipped with state-of-the-art sensors.

Module 7

Data

The data modules collects, organises, stores and offers access to all NPEC data.