Experimental approaches in plant growth analysis and phenotyping
Entry Requirements
90 ECTS biology or
30 ECTS biology + 60 ECTS forestry incl. 15 ECTS chemistry or
30 ECTS biology + 60 ECTS horticulture incl. 15 ECTS chemistry
30 ECTS biology + 60 ECTS agricult. science incl. 15 ECTS chemistry
and
English 6
Course facts
- Course name
- Experimental approaches in plant growth analysis and phenotyping
- Swedish course name
- Experimental approaches in plant growth analysis and phenotyping
- Level
- Second cycle (A1N)
- Main field of study
- Agricultural Science, Biology
- Credits
- 15.0 credits
- Rate of study
- 100 %
- Study location
- Uppsala
- Form of instruction
- Campus-based instruction
- Application code
- SLU-10253
- Course code
- BI1339
- Course language
- English
- Included in program
-
Plant Biology for Sustainable Production - Master's ProgrammePlant Biology for Sustainable Production - Master's programme
- Offered as a freestanding course
- Ja
- Tuition fee
-
38060 SEK
Tuition fees only for non-EU/EEA/Switzerland citizens
BI1339, Experimental approaches in plant growth analysis and phenotyping, 15.0 Hp
Print syllabus
Syllabus
Finalized by: PN - S, 2018-11-15
Valid from : Autumn semester 2019 (2019-09-02)
Level
Second cycle (A1N)
Main field of study
Agricultural Science, Biology
Grading Scale
The grade requirements within the course grading system are set out in specific criteria. These criteria must be available by the course start at the latest.
Course language
English
Entry Requirements
90 ECTS biology or
30 ECTS biology + 60 ECTS forestry incl. 15 ECTS chemistry or
30 ECTS biology + 60 ECTS horticulture incl. 15 ECTS chemistry
30 ECTS biology + 60 ECTS agricult. science incl. 15 ECTS chemistry
and
English 6
Objectives
The aim of the course is to provide an in-depth overview of the basic methods for measuring and assessing growth and physiology of plants, applying some of these methods in a practical project work, and give an overview of quantitative methods for the measurement of structural and functional plant properties (so called phenotyping) in modern phenotyping facilities. Upon completion of the course the student should be able to:
- describe the basic methods for measuring and assessing the growth of plants
- independently implement simple methods for plant growth analysis
- independently plan, implement and assess scientific experiments focusing on the growth of plants in relation to the surrounding environment (plant-environment and plant-plant interaction)
- describe the basic principles of growth modeling of plants
- evaluate different quantitative methods for measuring structural and functional plant properties in modern phenotyping facilities
Content
•Lectures Seminars (obligatory) Projekt work (obligatory) Exercises (obligatory) Own studies Examination and evaluation •The course deals with the basic methods for measuring and assessing growth and physiology of plants in relation to the surrounding environment (plant-environment and plant-plant interaction), training the students’ ability to apply some of these methods in practical project work, provide a basic understanding of plant growth modeling, and an overview of automated methods to rapidly measure structural and functional plant properties (so called phenotyping) in modern plant phenotyping facilities. Topics covered by this course are:
- Growth analysis and functional physiology of agricultural and forest plants
- Plant-environment and plant-plant interaction
- Experimental design and basic statistics for the analysis of scientific results
- Growth modeling of plants
- Modern phenotyping methods for plants, i.e. technical solutions for rapid and automated quantification of structural and functional plant properties in large quantities of plant individuals.
Examination Formats and Requirements for Passing the Course
Passed written or oral examinations, active participation in compulsory seminars and exercises, oral and written reporting of project work. The course contains mandatory elements (seminars, exercises, project work)
Responsible Department/Equivalent
Department of Crop Production Ecology
Supplementary information
Included in program
- Plant Biology for Sustainable Production - Master's Programme
- Plant Biology for Sustainable Production - Master's programme
Module set
| Title | Credits | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Project work | 7.5 | 0101 |
| Written exam | 7.5 | 0102 |
| Do not use | 7.5 | 0103 |
Other Information
The course is given in the Faculty-General Master’s Program in Plant Biology for Sustainable Production. The course consists of a theory part (7.5 credits) and a project part (7.5 credits), but both parts run over the entire course period. The theory part consists of lectures and seminars that will be offered only online (via zoom), which makes it possible to study this part remotely. All practical elements of the project work will take place on site at SLU Ultuna campus.
Course literature
BI1339 – Experimental approaches in plant growth analysis and phenotyping, 15 hp
Course leader: Martin Weih (martin.weih@slu.se)
The main course literature will be Lambers H, Chapin FS III, Pons TL (2008), Plant Physiological Ecology, Springer. An online version of this book is available from the SLU library at https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-0-387-78341-3
Reference will be made to specific chapters of the main course literature by the teachers responsible for each teaching unit, through the course Canvas page.
In addition to the above course literature, other sources will be part of the course literature. In some cases, supporting (more basic) readings and additional (more advanced) readings will be listed (and clearly indicated) at the course Canvas page**. **All compulsory literature will be made available to the students enrolled through the course Canvas page.
The additional course literature includes the following titles (selection):
Araus JL, Kefauver SC (2018) Breeding to adapt agriculture to climate change: affordable phenotyping solutions. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 45, 237-247.
Chawade A, Van Ham J, Blomquist H, Bagge O, Alexandersson E, Ortiz R (2019) High-Throughput Field-Phenotyping Tools for Plant Breeding and Precision Agriculture. Agronomy 2019, 9, 258.
Connolly J, Wayne P, Bazzaz FA (2001) Interspecific Competition in Plants: How Well Do Current Methods Answer Fundamental Questions? The American Naturalist 157: 107-125.
Fiorani F, Schurr U (2013) Future Scenarios for Plant Phenotyping. Annual Review of Plant Biology 64:1, 267-291.
Fowler J, Cohen L, Jarvis P () Practical Statistics for Field Biology. Wiley.
Golzarian M, Frick R, Rajendran K, Berger B, Roy S, et al. 2011. Accurate inference of shoot biomass from high-throughput images of cereal plants. Plant Methods 7:2
Larcher W (2003) Physiological Plant Ecology, Springer, p. 111-119.
Poorter H, Niinemets Ü, Walter A, Fiorani F, Schurr U. 2010. A method to construct dose–response curves for a wide range of environmental factors and plant traits by means of a meta-analysis of phenotypic data. J. Exp. Bot. 61:2043–55
Weih M, Westerbergh A, Lundquist P-O (2017), Role of nutrient-efficient plants for improving crop yields: bridging plant ecology, physiology, and molecular biology, Hossain MA et al (Eds), Plant macronutrient use efficiency – Molecular and genomic perspectives in crop plants, Elsevier, p. 31-44.
Please note that all compulsory literature will be made available to the students enrolled through the course Canvas page.
academic year 2025/2026
Experimental approaches in plant growth analysis and phenotyping (BI1339-10253)
2025-10-28 - 2025-11-19
academic year 2024/2025
Experimental approaches in plant growth analysis and phenotyping (BI1339-10182)
2024-10-24 - 2024-11-14
academic year 2023/2024
Experimental approaches in plant growth analysis and phenotyping (BI1339-10154)
2023-10-23 - 2023-11-13
academic year 2022/2023
Experimental approaches in plant growth analysis and phenotyping (BI1339-10352)
2022-10-24 - 2022-11-14
academic year 2019/2020
Experimental approaches in plant growth analysis and phenotyping (BI1339-10125)
2019-10-24 - 2019-11-14
Contact
- Course coordinator
- Martin Weih
- Examiner
- Martin Weih