ABSTRACT
Crop plants deliver various materials for human use. They are not only the prime source of human food and feed for domestic animals, but they also provide raw materials like fibers, chemicals, medical substances, and material for heating and energy. Modern crop physiology and breeding rely strongly on genomic work and use molecular markers to elucidate physiological functions and to accelerate breeding. When analyzing phenotypic traits of crops, researchers and breeders increasingly make use of image-based technologies that allow measurement of properties of the plants without touching, damaging, or destroying the current plant sample. Thus, the use of various optical instruments to record such data is followed by sophisticated procedures to derive information out of the recordings, that relate to the developmental, morphological, and physiological status of the plant. Overall, intelligent image analysis combines advanced technology for processing images, with interpretation techniques to connect measured parameters with plant traits.
