We operate a large number of field experiments across Germany. These field experiments provide a test field to develop PhenoRob technology under realistic agricultural conditions. Our field experiments include the large-scale PhenoRob Central Experiment at Campus Klein-Altendorf, the rhizotron facility at FZJ, the patchCROP experiment at ZALF, and the experimental field site FarmerSpace at IfZ.
PhenoRob Central Experiment
The PhenoRob central experiment comprises an area of 10 ha at Campus Klein-Altendorf. These experiments provide a testbed for many groups' robot and sensor development and deliver plant data for the modelling groups. For more information on the central experiment, check out the PhenoRob talk by our PI Uwe Rascher.
Rhizotron Facility
Crop production under climate change and the requirement to reduce inputs requires optimal root, rhizosphere and soil management. The rhizotron facility on an experimental field in Selhausen close to Forschungszentrum Jülich facilitates phenotyping the belowground system. Operated jointly by IBG-3 and PhenoRob, this facility is the only one of its kind in the world.
The rhizotron facility is a testbed for geophysical and electrical methods to noninvasively measure and monitor spatial patterns of soil and root properties as well as monitoring spatial patterns of processes such as water flow, root water uptake, and solute transport in soils. Our aim is to further develop it into an Integrated Phenotyping Platform that allows for phenotyping the entire, above- and belowground parts, of crops and to learn about shoot-root interactions.
patchCROP
patchCROP is a large-scale experiment at ZALF. With a run-time of 10 years, it has been designed as a living lab. It serves as a platform to investigate abiotic and biotic effects and interactions in newly created small-structured field units and, in particular, site-specific crop rotations and management practices adapted to the heterogeneity of the area. To learn more, listen to the PhenoRob talk by ZALF's Scientific Director and our PI Frank Ewert, or check out the videos on the patchCROP website.
FarmerSpace
The digital experimentation field FarmerSpace offers a joint trial platform for stakeholders from practical agriculture. Here, stakeholders can jointly develop agricultural practice requirements for digital plant protection and prepare options to introduce digital technologies. Learn more in this video with our PI Anne-Katrin Mahlein and watch our video on sugar beet harvest at the field site. In this video you can learn more about the Field Weasel, a vegetation measurement from Forschungszentrum Jülich, which was used for chlorophyll fluorescence measurements in sugarbeet fields.