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Plant function and evolutionary biology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Thermal infrared imaging of crop canopies for the remote diagnosis and quantification of plant responses to water stress in the field

Hamlyn G. Jones A G , Rachid Serraj B , Brian R. Loveys C , Lizhong Xiong D , Ashley Wheaton E and Adam H. Price F
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Division of Plant Sciences, University of Dundee at SCRI, Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA, Scotland.

B International Rice Research Institute, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines.

C CSIRO Plant Industry, PO Box 350, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia.

D National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.

E Melbourne School of Land and Environment, Dookie Campus, The University of Melbourne, Dookie College, Vic. 3647, Australia.

F Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UU, UK.

G Corresponding author. Email: h.g.jones@dundee.ac.uk

This paper originates from a presentation at the 1st International Plant Phenomics Symposium, Canberra, Australia, April 2009.

Functional Plant Biology 36(11) 978-989 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP09123
Submitted: 26 May 2009  Accepted: 15 September 2009   Published: 5 November 2009

Abstract

Thermal imaging using infrared (IR) is now an established technology for the study of stomatal responses and for phenotyping plants for differences in stomatal behaviour. This paper outlines the potential applications of IR sensing in drought phenotyping, with particular emphasis on a description of the problems with extrapolation of the technique from the study of single leaves in controlled environments to the study of plant canopies is field plots, with examples taken from studies on grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) and rice (Oryza sativa L.). Particular problems include the sensitivity of leaf temperature (and potentially the temperature of reference surfaces) to both temporal and spatial variation in absorbed radiation, with leaf temperature varying by as much as 15°C between full sun and deep shade. Examples of application of the approach to phenotyping in the field and the steps in data analysis are outlined, demonstrating that clear genotypic variation may be detected despite substantial variation in soil moisture status or incident radiation by the use of appropriate normalisation techniques.

Additional keywords: BRDF, drought, grapevine, IR thermography, Oryza sativa, phenotyping, rice, stress diagnosis, stress sensing, Vitis vinifera.


Acknowledgements

We are particularly grateful to various colleagues including Pietà Schofield, Ilkka Leinonen and Laury Chaerle for their contributions to aspects of the work described, and to funding agencies including EU Human Potential Program - HPRN-CT-2002–00254, EU FP6 project 015468 ‘CEDROME’, EU WATERUSE Project (EVKI-2000–22061), UK Defra HortLink project WaterLink2 (project HL0168), the Rockefeller Foundation Project (IRRI), the International Rice Research Institute and the Australian Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation.


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