High-resolution satellite imagery applications in crop phenotyping: An overview

Over the past ten years, plant phenotyping technologies that utilize sensing and data mining approaches to estimate crop traits in a high-throughput and objective manner, have been evaluated and applied in different crop improvement and breeding programs. Multiple platforms, from proximal to unmanned aerial systems based remote sensing, have been developed and applied to increase the throughput, efficiency, and objectivity during field phenotyping. In recent years, the development and availability of high-resolution satellite imagery from low-orbit satellites have offered yet another opportunity for phenotyping applications. This review demonstrates the applications of satellite imagery in agricultural production and crop phenotyping and suggests plant traits that can be evaluated using high-resolution satellite imagery. The review summarizes the merits (e.g. rapid/automated data capture from larger and multiple field sites) and challenges (e.g. cloud occlusion) of satellite-based phenotyping in crop breeding programs, and discusses future perspectives/opportunities of high-resolution satellite imagery as a phenotyping tool. High-resolution satellite imagery can serve as a phenotyping tool for the assessment of crop varieties, thus assisting plants breeders in the process of selecting high-yielding, stress (abiotic and biotic) tolerant variety that can contribute to addressing world food demand amidst climate change.