Patent ID: 9538124
Date: 2017-01-03
CPC Classifications: A01C,A01G,H04N,Y02P

Claim:
1. A method for evaluating roots of a potted plant in a non-destructive manner to identify a plant possessing a trait of interest, comprising: (i) providing a potted plant grown in a particulate, non-transparent growing medium in a substantially transparent container for imaging; (ii) evaluating roots of the potted plant through the transparent container and the particulate, non-transparent growing medium by using a camera that can output two-dimensional images in a digital format; (iii) collecting digital images of the roots and storing information from the digital images in a computer; and (iv) measuring root traits by analyzing the information with algorithms to identify a plant possessing a trait of interest, wherein the roots of the potted plant are evaluated in a non-destructive manner to the plant and the roots, and wherein the potted plant is retrieved from an original location for imaging and returned to its original location or to another location after imaging.