Development of a New Evaluation Method for Individual Selection in Grass Breeding with Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and Image Analysis

Abstract

We utilized Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and image analysis to develop an effective and objective evaluation method for individual plant/plot selections in a grass breeding program. Using an established orchardgrass field nursery, we compared a professional breeder’s rating of individual plant canopies with Green Red Vegetation Indexes (GRVI) obtained from a UAV. Correlation was high (r＝0.80) between the two rating systems. In additional rating comparison experiments using orchardgrass and Italian ryegrass, correlations between breeder’s scores and GRVI remained high (r＝0.80 and 0.76). Correlations were not affected due to sunny weather or when images were captured from 20 to 100m. These results indicate that GRVI is a useful index in a grass breeding program.