Overcoming the challenges of food insecurity is a pressing global need, and developing improved crops adapted to changing climatic and biotic stresses will be key. To do this more effectively, plant breeders must better understand plant traits and their variation available in breeding populations and germplasm panels. This is done through ‘phenotyping’, the process of measuring an organism’s phenotype, i.e. the observable characteristics produced by the interaction of the genotype and the environment.

On 26-27 September 2023, 105 participants from 10 countries, representing advanced research institutes and private companies, came together at World Vegetable Center headquarters, Shanhua, Tainan, Taiwan to share their experiences on the latest developments in phenotyping technologies, and how to process and apply all the data produced into concrete outcomes for improved plant breeding.

Roland Schafleitner (World Vegetable Center) gave the welcome address, saying that “The 50^th anniversary of the World Vegetable Center is a great opportunity to organize this symposium to strengthen the interaction between developers, researchers and users of this fascinating technology that allows us to literally watch plants growing and teach us how we can make agriculture more productive and at the same time more sustainable.” This was followed by introductions by representatives of Academia Sinica and the National Taiwan University as co-organizers.

The opening session set the scene, with Onno Muller (Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany) presenting the array of new sensors available, Sachiko Isobe (Kazusa DNA Research Institute, Japan) explaining the application of digital phenotyping techniques in plant research and breeding, and Hyeonso Ji (National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Korea) showcasing the importance of this field in the establishment of a new national phenomics center. One will also open soon in Taiwan. High throughput plant phenotyping was seen as the solution to many challenges for sustainable increase of food production to meet the increasing demand.

Over two days in the conference room, participants listened intently to 20 detailed presentations, asked questions to those who presented 10 posters, and saw a demonstration of a tabletop Phenospex scanner. There was much interaction in all breaks, and also well into the evening….

After the meeting closed, there was a tour of WorldVeg field trials being monitored by Phenospex 3D laser scanners suspended from a mobile gantry, and the demonstration gardens containing more than 200 vegetable species. Presenters and international participants were then also invited to see the facilities at the Academia Sinica southern campus in Tainan.

And the benefits of the symposium were clear. Pratapsingh Khapte (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) noted “As a vegetable breeder, I have learned much about non-destructive methods used on different crops, and how these can be used in order to improve production under abiotic stress.” Ssu-yu Lin (Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute) said that “This is relatively new in Taiwan, so it was valuable to learn of experiences from around the world.” Ting Xiang Neik (National University of Singapore) confirmed this, saying that “We are planning to have such facilities, so it has been great to understand what is available, and to network with leading experts.”

Yu-pin Lin (National Taiwan University) said that “This has been a great event, quite different from ‘usual’ conferences as it allowed for much more interaction between participants, and an opportunity to build a research platform for phenotyping.” Owen Atkins (Australian National University) added, “As a physiologist, it is so important to share with the technologists, with the private sector to understand industry needs, and with data analysts. We have the equipment, and know how to use to it. But how to turn the masses of data into tangible benefits, that is a challenge…”

Visit of speakers and guests from overseas at Academia Sinica, South Branch, Tainan, hosted by Dr. Lin Yao-Cheng

Jennifer Clarke (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) summed up the event very nicely. “I was impressed by the synergies between basic and applied research, and to see such a vibrant and dynamic community including many keen young researchers. We are certainly advancing towards solving the problems of climate change and food security, and from what I have seen these days, I am optimistic that we will achieve our goals.”

The International Plant Phenotyping Symposium – PhenoVeg 2023 was organized by the World Vegetable Center in collaboration with the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute, the National Taiwan University and Academia Sinica, with financial support from the Ministry of Agriculture of Taiwan. Further support was obtained from the long term strategic donors of the World Vegetable Center: UK Aid from the UK government, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the governments of Taiwan, Germany, Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea and Japan.