Determining root length
Description of the Problem
Researchers in plant science, soil science and crop science study the root structures of plants to better understand disease and make determinations about crop yields. Studying the vitality of root structures provides scientists with information about the severity of damage to crops due to disease, or about the effectiveness of hybrid crop development. Despite the complex nature of root growth, many scientists and researchers either measure roots by hand or simply make visual estimations. Such methodology is either too slow or inaccurate to adequately quantify and verify growth and disease phenomena. This can negatively affect experiments when based on data analyzed across hundreds or even thousands of samples.
The Solution using OPTIMAS
With OPTIMAS and a simple macro, agronomists use image analysis as a low-cost, accurate method for collecting data about root structures. Agronomists typically need to measure the total length and area of a root or root mass.
For example, the root mass can be stained with methyl violet, placed on a light box, and captured electronically with an inexpensive digitizer board and camera. The OPTIMAS macro prompts researchers through the measurement process, allowing them to collect data on either a portion of the root or the entire root mass. After designating a portion of the root to measure, the macro automatically calculates the "skeleton" of the root mass. Afterwards, it measures each section of the "skeleton" to compute a total root length. Also, by electronically separating the root mass from the background in the image, an accurate root area measurement is calculated. Measurements can be saved as ASCII data and read into either spreadsheets, databases, statistical analysis packages or custom programs. Root measurements previously requiring hours to collect by hand can now be done in minutes with OPTIMAS, reducing human error, increasing measurement accuracy, and allowing the agronomists the time to do what they do best - agronomy.