German scientists tested the technique for the first time on sugar beets. Anyone who wants can print the design of the 3D beet themselves.
People have been crossing all kinds of crops for thousands of years. By selecting wild ancestors for their best qualities – for humans – all kinds of crops were created that we encounter in the supermarket today. Cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and kohlrabi, for example: crops that all come from the same plant. And farmers and growers still improve their crops. Not always to develop new varieties, but also to make their crops more resistant to diseases, periods of drought or heavy rainfall.
Although smart selection can mean a lot, manual crossing is time-consuming (see box). Especially on large fields with many crops. Researchers from the Institute of Sugar Beet Research and the University of Bonn have therefore devised a new technique to select the best crops from the large numbers. Namely through 3D models of the ideal sugar beet that drones with lasers can search for while flying over the fields.
Improving Sugar Beet with LIDAR and 3D Printing – GigaScience 2024
Crops have been adapted by humans for centuries to create varieties that taste better, are more resistant to diseases or so that they also thrive in different soils. In the past, this was mainly done by hand. By crossing the best specimens with each other, growers can select the best qualities for the next generation. In recent years, a new technique has been added: genetic modification, or cutting and pasting DNA. This method also selects the best properties for a new variety, but instead of crossing crops for generations, the breeders select the best genes at DNA level. The technique has been used more and more in recent years, but there is also a lot of resistance to it. For example, there is real commentary that modification should not lead to more mono-cultures. But there are also many concerns that arise from a distrust of new things, said Patricia Osseweijer from the TU Delft previously to Scientias.nl: “When people hear that there is DNA in their food, they are shocked. They don’t know that we’ve always been eating DNA.”
3D-model
The researchers first made a 3D model of the sugar beet plants. For this they used LIDAR technology (Light Detection and Ranging). A technique using lasers that can measure the distance to an object, allowing them to create an accurate 3D model of the plant. That model of the sugar beet plant can then be used in combination with AI technologies for ‘standardized phenotyping’. In other words, the large-scale and automatic measurement of the visible properties of a plant, such as leaf size, stem thickness and yield. This way, researchers can analyze the 3D scans made by the drones and recognize the best external features.
Why the sugar beet?
Sugar beet is an important crop for the production of sugar, ethanol and animal feed. Farmers and researchers all over the world have therefore been working for some time to increase sugar beet yields, improve quality and increase resistance to diseases and pests. Although sugar beet was therefore a logical starting vegetable, the technique can also be applied to other crops, the researchers say. “It would be great to test this approach on other crops such as rice or African orphan crops,” Chris Armit, GigaScience data scientist. “Actually everywhere where there is a need for cheap phenotyping solutions.”
The printed ideal sugar beet model also serves as a reference point for researchers to study the growth and development of sugar beet plants. With the models that exactly resemble real plants, they can conduct research in a new way and develop new, better plant varieties. That is a difficult but important job, says Jonas Bömer, one of the researchers, “which benefits both scientific research and practical plant breeding.”