LIDAR Scanning of Cotton for Canopy Height, Width and Boll Counts

Terrestrial Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) is a well-known technology that is used in a wide variety of applications including near-distance 3D mapping of objects at ground level. At an experimental site for phenotyping in Maricopa, Arizona, LIDAR has been deployed to scan cotton as a way to map heat and drought effects on plant architecture including height and width. In 2014 and 2015 LIDAR was mounted on a tractor and a small dolly track to evaluate how LIDAR measurements compared to alternative estimates done by hand or using acoustic distances.  The experimental design consisted of 35 contributed varieties and breeding lines from the Regional Breeders Testing Network (RBTN).  Plants were grown in two-row 10.7 m plots, spaced 1.02 m apart under two irrigation treatments (well-watered and water-limited) and replicated three times using an alpha lattice (0,1) design. Results from the surveys and implementation of data processing, management, and visualization system will be discussed