4DPhenoMVS: A Low-Cost 3D Tomato Phenotyping Pipeline Using a 3D Reconstruction Point Cloud Based on Multiview Images

Manual phenotyping of tomato plants is time consuming and labor intensive. Due to the lack of low-cost and open-access 3D phenotyping tools, the dynamic 3D growth of tomato plants during all growth stages has not been fully explored. In this study, based on the 3D structural data points generated by employing structures from motion algorithms on multiple-view images, we proposed a dynamic 3D phenotyping pipeline, 4DPhenoMVS, to calculate and analyze 14 phenotypic traits of tomato plants covering the whole life cycle. The results showed that the R2 values between the phenotypic traits and the manual measurements stem length, plant height, and internode length were more than 0.8. In addition, to investigate the environmental influence on tomato plant growth and yield in the greenhouse, eight tomato plants were chosen and phenotyped during 7 growth stages according to different light intensities, temperatures, and humidities. The results showed that stronger light intensity and moderate temperature and humidity contribute to a higher growth rate and higher yield. In conclusion, we developed a low-cost and open-access 3D phenotyping pipeline for tomato plants, which will benefit tomato breeding, cultivation research, and functional genomics in the future. HighlightsBased on the 3D structural data points generated by employing structures from motion algorithms on multiple-view images, we developed a low-cost and open-access 3D phenotyping tool for tomato plants during all growth stages.