Temporally resolved growth patterns reveal novel information about the polygenic nature of complex quantitative traits.

Plant height can be an indicator of plant health across environments and used to identify superior genotypes. Typically plant height is measured at a single timepoint when plants reach terminal height. Evaluating plant height using unoccupied aerial vehicles allows for measurements throughout the growing season, facilitating a better understanding of plant-environment interactions and the genetic basis of this complex trait.

Characterizing introgression-by-environment interactions using maize near isogenic lines.

Significant introgression-by-environment interactions are observed for traits throughout development from small introgressed segments of the genome. Relatively small genomic introgressions containing quantitative trait loci can have significant impacts on the phenotype of an individual plant. However, the magnitude of phenotypic effects for the same introgression can vary quite substantially in different environments due to introgression-by-environment interactions.

UAV-based imaging platform for monitoring maize growth throughout development.

Plant height (PH) data collected at high temporal resolutions can give insight into how genotype and environmental variation influence plant growth. However, in order to increase the temporal resolution of PH data collection, more robust, rapid, and low-cost methods are needed to evaluate field plots than those currently available. Due to their low cost and high functionality, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) provide an efficient means for collecting height at various stages throughout development.