Lemnatec™ Growscreen Rhizo
Portable Analytical Solutions
A combined root and shoot phenotyping solution for glasshouses, growth rooms, climate chambers, cultivation halls, or indoor farms
Challenges in root phenotyping
While most phenotyping solutions focus on above-ground traits of the plants, roots are usually hidden in soil and thus not accessible to measurements. To make them visible, specific cultivation measures are available. The Growscreen Rhizo uses soil-filled rhizoboxes placed at 45° angle that have a transparent plate where roots are visible for image recording. In collaboration with and under licence of the Forschungszentrum Jülich, LemnaTec offers the Growscreen Rhizo as combined root-and shoot- phenotyping system. Core component is an image acquisition cabinet with high-resolution cameras focused on the roots and the shoots of the plants. Thereby, classical shoot imaging is done simultaneously with precision root imaging. The cabinet is also equipped with dedicated illumination to enable optimal image recording.
Advantages of Growscreen Rhizo
We offer an automated root and shoot phenotyping system for soil-based systems that is superior to other methods that use artificial media for plant growth.
- Roots in soil – no artificial media required
- Soil-filled rhizoboxes at 45° angle
- Non-destructive – access to roots without digging or washing
- Time-course studies
- Root- and Shoot data for each plant
- High-resolution root imaging
- High-resolution shoot imaging
- Advanced analytical software, machine learning algorithms available
- Weighing and watering option
- Automation options
Technological features
Roots and shoots of the growing plants are imaged with industry-grade high-resolution cameras, combined with advanced light technology that allows reflection-free image recording.
A balance and water supply system can be mounted for precise control of soil water content, enabling growth scenarios with different water availability.
Automation technology is available to move in and out the rhizoboxes so that experiments with repeated time-course measurements can be planned. Automation can be done with conveyer-based systems or with magazine automation technology, depending on the local requirements.
Software tools give access to shoot- and root- phenotypic traits such as growth and morphology. Root systems are characterised for root system depth and width and for spatial root distribution, together with root length and width data, rooting angles or total root area. Shoot systems are analysed for height, width, area, and morphological factors, together with colour data.
We recommend to record environmental data in the plant growth area, such as temperature, light, or air humidity. We offer recording systems that store the environmental data together with the phenotypic data of the corresponding plants.