Estimating Biomass and Canopy Height With LiDAR for Field Crop Breeding

Above-ground biomass (AGB) is a trait with much potential for exploitation within wheat breeding programs and is linked closely to canopy height (CH). However, collecting phenotypic data for AGB and CH within breeding programs is labor intensive, and in the case of AGB, destructive and prone to assessment error. As a result, measuring these traits is seldom a priority for breeders, especially at the early stages of a selection program. LiDAR has been demonstrated as a sensor capable of collecting three-dimensional data from wheat field trials, and potentially suitable for providing objective, non-destructive, high-throughput estimates of AGB and CH for use by wheat breeders. The current study investigates the deployment of a LiDAR system on a ground-based high-throughput phenotyping platform in eight wheat field trials across southern Australia, for the non-destructive estimate of AGB and CH. LiDAR-derived measurements were compared to manual measurements of AGB and CH collected at each site and assessed for their suitability of application within a breeding program. Correlations between AGB and LiDAR Projected Volume (LPV) were generally strong (up to r = 0.86), as were correlations between CH and LiDAR Canopy Height (LCH) (up to r = 0.94). Heritability (H(2)) of LPV (H(2) = 0.32–0.90) was observed to be greater than, or similar to, the heritability of AGB (H(2) = 0.12–0.78) for the majority of measurements. A similar level of heritability was observed for LCH (H(2) = 0.41–0.98) and CH (H(2) = 0.49–0.98). Further to this, measurements of LPV and LCH were shown to be highly repeatable when collected from either the same or opposite direction of travel. LiDAR scans were collected at a rate of 2,400 plots per hour, with the potential to further increase throughput to 7,400 plots per hour. This research demonstrates the capability of LiDAR sensors to collect high-quality, non-destructive, repeatable measurements of AGB and CH suitable for use within both breeding and research programs.