A hand?held spectrophotometer for in?field phenotyping of tomato and pepper

Scientists tested the viability of the portable and non-destructive F-750 from Felix Instruments - Applied Food Science as a phenotypic tool for tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and pepper (Capsicum annuum). They were able to recommend it based on their findings along with some suggestions. They tested fruit quality traits such as soluble solids, pH, and carotenoids in elite cultivars and introgression lines of tomato, as well as diverse hybrid and open?pollinated varieties of pepper. The F-750 was found to be suitable for quality trait modeling, but there are limitations, so only specific species, traits, and maturity stages can be tested. Their study provides insights into the relationships between spectroscopy data and fruit biology/biochemistry, genetic diversity, and environmental factors. To get the best results from F-750, they advise sub-grouping the diverse germplasm in plant breeding studies and conducting further tests with the device in various stages of the breeding pipeline under controlled temperature, using advanced chemometrics and 3-D hyperspectral imaging. Abstract of the paperPhenotyping for vegetable fruit quality traits can involve laborious postharvest and biochemical assays, decreasing efficiency of data collection. Portable devices that are easy to use and withstand in?field conditions to non?destructively and accurately quantify internal fruit quality traits would greatly enhance efficiency in breeding programs. We evaluated a hand?held quality spectrophotometer, the Felix?750, as an in?field tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and pepper (Capsicum annuum) high?throughput phenotyping tool. Fruit quality traits included pH, soluble solids, carotenoids, and shrink in germplasm grown in replicated split?plot field trials. Germplasm included elite inbred cultivars and introgression lines of tomato, and diverse hybrid and open?pollinated cultivars of pepper. Our study employed a multi?faceted approach to evaluate the use of the Felix?750 in a plant breeding program. Our approach included chemometrics and trait?based partial least squares regression modeling, and examination of patterns in the ??specific spectroscopy data based on variables relevant to genetic, fruit, and environmental factors using principal component analysis and biplots. Results of our study revealed: (a) the scope and limitations of the Felix?750 in fruit quality trait assessment based on the range of predictive power of partial least squares models; (b) insights into the complex relationships of spectroscopy data with genetic diversity, fruit biology and biochemistry, and factors related to environment. Additional research on the Felix?750 is needed to determine its potential applications at early and later stages of a breeding pipeline. We also suggest researchers explore more advanced chemometric tools and 3?D fruit hyperspectral imaging approaches. SourceEvaluation of a hand?held spectrophotometer as an in?field phenotyping tool for tomato and pepper fruit qualityAmanjot Kaur, Irwin R. Donis?Gonzalez & Dina A. St. ClairThe Plant Phenome Journalhttps://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ppj2.20008