IJPB / Plant Observatory - Phenoscope

The IJPB's OV-Phenoscope platform is dedicated to high-throughput analysis of the growth of small to medium-sized plants.
The IJPB has developed and patented its own system for the automated analysis of plant growth and development under controlled conditions.
Three Phenoscope robots (2 'Classic' Phenoscopes + 1 'XL' Phenoscope) are currently in operation on the platform, enabling the monitoring of nearly ~2,000 individual plants in all at the vegetative or reproductive stage in a controlled climatic environment, including LED-white lighting. The pots (plants) are in constant motion on a table, so as to compensate for environmental micro-variations, and each pot is weighed and watered every 4 hours, making it possible to follow user-defined hydric or nutritional scenarios. An imaging station (visible and infrared, soon to be hyperspectral) acquires images of each plant once or twice a day, to quantify the phenotypic response to environmental conditions. All the experimental parameters, images and measurements are stored in a database managed by a dedicated information system. The environmental factors that we are used to managing on the platform include water, nitrogen and salt stress. The phenotypic parameters usually measured are those related to rosette growth and architecture, leaf colour and temperature.

• Mr Olivier LOUDET