Picturing the future of food

Abstract

High-throughput phenotyping (HTP) has emerged as one of the most exciting and rapidly evolving spaces within plant science. The successful application of phenotyping technologies will facilitate increases in agricultural productivity. High-throughput phenotyping research is interdisciplinary and may involve biologists, engineers, mathematicians, physicists, and computer scientists. Here we describe the need for additional interest in HTP and offer a primer for those looking to engage with the HTP community. This is a high-level overview of HTP technologies and analysis methodologies, which highlights recent progress in applying HTP to foundational research, identification of biotic and abiotic stress, breeding and crop improvement, and commercial and production processes. We also point to the opportunities and challenges associated with incorporating HTP across food production to sustainably meet the current and future global food supply requirements.