Non-destructive
Plant Phenotyping

This lab course contains lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on elements.

• Non-invasive methods for leaf and root growth analysis
  (S. Matsubara)
  This part of the course introduces you to non-invasive plant growth analysis. Methods for image-based growth analysis will be demonstrated for shoots and roots, for smaller (single leaf, root tip) or larger organs (total leaf area, total root length, shoot and root architecture) at different time scales (minutes, hours, days). Examples of the studies will be shown, in which these methods have been (or are being) applied to address questions about regulatory mechanisms and stress response of plant growth.
   
• Non-destructive characterization of plant water relations
  (H. Schneider)
  This part of the course introduces you to minimally- and non-invasive approaches to study plant water content and distribution as key information to interpret growth dynamics. The use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) for research on plant water relations will be demonstrated, and examples of the use of our equipment for stationary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and portable NMR to solve water relations questions will be shown. Methods to analyze the driving forces for water transport and the hydraulic coupling of tissues such as pressure probes and microsampling techniques will also be demonstrated.

Tuesday, December 13
Wednesday, December 14