5 Steps for More Successful Plant Phenotyping Platforms

Over the last 7 years, I have worked in two major phenotyping companies and have overseen the design, construction and installation of more than 15 large-scale plant phenotyping platforms worldwide. With this background I have gained an interesting view into the development processes and different approaches people took. In the past, phenotyping has been an emerging market with only a few players. The lack of alternatives in such a young oligopolistic market has resulted in bad product quality and wrong product constellation for the given application. This has applied to both self-build- and commercial-systems. In addition to that, miscommunication and a lack of experience has led to wrong expectations of scientists and suppliers. With the increasing amount of companies offering phenotyping equipment and the experience gained over the last years, it is time for the next generation of plant phenotyping platforms.