The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) has expanded its investment with the Australian Plant Phenomics Network (APPN), building on a previous $2 million GRDC investment from 2024. This initiative is further supported by an additional $60 million from APPN’s primary investment partner, the National Collaborative Research Investment Scheme (NCRIS). This funding enables APPN to establish a consistent national ecosystem of advanced phenotyping technology for crop research.
Mobile Phenotyping Technology
This mobile phenotyping technology is a new resource for Australian field research. GRDC's investment includes an APPN CALViS mobile phenotyping platform, designed to assist scientists in rapidly measuring and recording plant growth in field settings. The technology is applicable to research in plant physiology, disease detection, agronomic limitations, and genetic enhancements. It is also expected to facilitate new research and accelerate research outcomes.
Advanced mobile phenotyping technology allows researchers to utilize equipment such as drones and sensors to measure observable crop characteristics with increased speed and detail.
Network and Capabilities
Tom Giles, GRDC senior manager – enabling technologies, stated that GRDC support enables APPN to build a nationally distributed network of mobile phenotyping platforms. This network is underpinned by consistent sensor technologies, expertise, and standardized protocols for data collection and analysis. Giles added that the new investment provides the capacity to develop and refine algorithms that automate plant trait measurement, enhancing the speed and accuracy of phenotyping at the plant, plot, and paddock scales.
He further indicated that the partnership aims to maintain Australian crop research at the forefront of global innovation in digital agriculture and phenotyping science. The initiative intends to deliver improved outcomes for Australian growers by accelerating crop improvement and enhancing agronomic practices, thereby boosting productivity, managing risk, and supporting the sustainability of the grains industry.
APPN’s field research nodes across six locations—Adelaide, Gatton, Narrabri, Northam, Perth, and Wagga Wagga—will each receive a mobile phenotyping unit. These units are designed to enhance the scale and precision of research measurements through sensors on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones, ground-based scanning platforms, and an on-site trial environment monitoring system (TEMS).
Trevor Garnett, APPN national field phenomics director, stated that the mobile phenotyping units offer versatile options for crop analysis at different scales, speeds, and resolutions across nearly any trial location in Australia. APPN has developed a national high-throughput phenotyping capability, enabling consistent and comparable data generation for researchers and industry nationwide.
Each mobile phenotyping unit contains a suite of high-resolution imaging tools, including hyperspectral and multispectral sensors, and 3D imaging systems. These tools allow for repeatable, non-destructive assessment of plant traits like water status, nutrient levels, and disease presence, even before visible symptoms appear. The APPN CALViS UAV platform is described as an advanced airborne unit for Australian agricultural research. It features a high-resolution co-aligned hyperspectral and LiDAR sensor package capable of measuring visible and non-visible traits, as well as a plant’s physical structure.
The consistent technologies within the mobile phenotyping fleet, supported by APPN’s expertise in machine learning, computer science, and data analytics, aim to enhance research collaboration and ensure reliable, comparable data. This is considered a significant advancement in Australian plant phenotyping capacity.