PyBrOpS: a Python package for breeding program simulation and optimization for multi-objective breeding.

Plant breeding is a complex endeavor that is almost always multi-objective in nature. In recent years, stochastic breeding simulations have been used by breeders to assess the merits of alternative breeding strategies and assist in decision-making. In addition to simulations, visualization of a Pareto frontier for multiple competing breeding objectives can assist breeders in decision-making.

Composite modeling of leaf shape along shoots discriminates species better than individual leaves.

Premise: Leaf morphology is dynamic, continuously deforming during leaf expansion and among leaves within a shoot. Here, we measured the leaf morphology of more than 200 grapevines ( spp.) over four years and modeled changes in leaf shape along the shoot to determine whether a composite leaf shape comprising all the leaves from a single shoot can better capture the variation and predict species identity compared with individual leaves.