Gathering millions of data points from thousands of wheat breeding lines across Texas is now as simple as riding a bike – or pushing one, in this case.
Jackie Rudd, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research wheat breeder,
Gathering millions of data points from thousands of wheat breeding lines across Texas is now as simple as riding a bike – or pushing one, in this case.
Jackie Rudd, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research wheat breeder, and Srirama Krishna Reddy, Ph.D., assistant research scientist, both in Amarillo, said their new walk-behind phenotyper is still a work in progress with respect to data analysis and management, but strapping new technology with old technology is certainly making the process quicker and more reliable.
Traditional breeders depend on their eyes, Rudd said, but now they are using remote-sensing data to improve those "eyes-on" selections.
Texas A&M AgriLife has wheat plots in 30 locations, with about 30,000 plots total, Rudd said. These plots are divided into irrigated and dryland trials, as well as single row or small plots.
"Previously, someone had to walk through the plots and record their visual observations," Rudd said. "We need that information in the breeding program to select the best material suitable to the region. And, each plot needs to be evaluated multiple times in a season.
"This new piece of equipment will allow breeders to make selections in a more reliable manner, instead of some things being subjective to human observations."
The instrumentation strapped to a bicycle wheel and the software, Phenocom, was prototyped last season by Jared Crain, Jesse Poland and other researchers at Kansas State University, Reddy said.
Working with Crain and using his design, Reddy has now gone through several iterations of the AgriLife Research wheat program machine, with the help of coworkers Jonny Simmons, Jack Bush and Kevin Heflin, who have worked on the design. It has been with grant funds from Texas A&M AgriLife Research Cropping Systems and Texas Wheat Producers Board.
Srirama Krishna Reddy, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research assistant research scientist in Amarillo, shows off an early version of his walk-behind phenotyper. Credit: Texas A&M AgriLife Research photo by Kay Ledbetter.
Reddy said the frame is on a bicycle wheel with instrumentation attached on a cart designed to carry a computer.
The instrumentation includes a GPS system to track within 2-4 inches accuracy; a webcam, which can ta