Crop HTP Technologies: Applications and Prospects

Abstract

In order to rapidly breed high-quality varieties, an increasing number of plant researchers have identified the functions of a large number of genes, but there is a serious lack of research on plants’ phenotypic traits. This severely hampers the breeding process and exacerbates the dual challenges of scarce resources and resource development and utilization. Currently, research on crop phenotyping has gradually transitioned from traditional methods to HTP technologies, highlighting the high regard scientists have for these technologies. It is well known that different crops’ phenotypic traits exhibit certain differences. Therefore, in rapidly acquiring phenotypic data and efficiently extracting key information from massive datasets is precisely where HTP technologies play a crucial role in agricultural development. The core content of this article, starting from the perspective of crop phenomics, summarizes the current research status of HTP technology, both domestically and internationally; the application of HTP technology in above-ground and underground parts of crops; and its integration with precision agriculture implementation and multi-omics research. Finally, the bottleneck and countermeasures of HTP technology in the current agricultural context are proposed in order to provide a new method for phenotype research. HTP technologies dynamically monitor plant growth conditions with multi-scale, comprehensive, and automated assessments. This enables a more effective exploration of the intrinsic “genotype-phenotype-environment” relationships, unveiling the mechanisms behind specific biological traits. In doing so, these technologies support the improvement and evolution of superior varieties.