Rhizotron “Rootshoot”

The primary purpose of the machine is to fill rhizotron sheets with soil, ensuring a consistent thickness of 4 mm. These rhizotron sheets play a crucial role in the rhizotron phenotyper, which is designed to analyze and gather vital information from a grid of plants. The machine specifically focuses on examining the roots of the plants, which are essential for understanding plant health, growth patterns, and responses to various treatments.

Roots are fundamental to a plant’s overall health and productivity. They anchor the plant in the soil, absorb water and nutrients, and play a key role in the plant’s interaction with its environment. By focusing on root development and characteristics, researchers can gain insights into how different conditions affect plant growth and yield. The rootshoot phenotyper allows for a detailed examination of these critical aspects, contributing to advancements in agricultural practices and plant science.

Each plant is cultivated in a buffer setup within the machine’s working zone. This configuration ensures that the plants are spaced appropriately, allowing for optimal growth while minimizing competition for resources. The buffer rows also facilitate easier access for the machine to perform its functions without disturbing adjacent plants.

The machine is equipped with advanced capabilities that allow the operator to program various optical treatments and scans. These treatments can be organized into experiments that include different schedules aimed at investigating specific aspects of plant growth and development. Some of the key instances that can be investigated include:

• Side and Top Imaging with RGB Cameras: The machine can capture high-resolution images of the plant shoot from multiple angles using RGB cameras. This imaging provides valuable visual data that can be analyzed to assess plant shoot health, morphology, and growth patterns.
• Root Infrared Scanning: The infrared scanning feature enables the machine to gather data on root systems without disturbing the plants. This non-invasive technique allows researchers to study root architecture, depth, and overall health, providing insights into how roots respond to environmental factors.

The machine is designed to accommodate plants with specific dimensions, ensuring that it can effectively analyze a wide range of species. The maximum plant height that can be accommodated is 200 mm, while the maximum plant width is 140 mm. These specifications allow for flexibility in the types of plants that can be studied, making the machine a versatile tool for researchers.

In summary, the machine serves as a vital tool for researchers focused on plant root analysis within the framework of rootshoot phenotyping. By automating the process of filling rootshoot sheets with soil and enabling programmable optical treatments, the machine enhances the efficiency and accuracy of data collection. This innovation not only streamlines research processes but also contributes to a deeper understanding of plant root systems, ultimately supporting advancements in agricultural science and practices.