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To support the search for disease-resistant crop varieties, SESVanderHave, CRA-w and VITO Remote Sensing joined forces in the BeetPhen project, initiated by BELSPO. Our experts used hyperspectral drone imagery, combined with innovative remote sensing technology for crop phenotyping in our sugar beet breeding trials.

BeetPhen, an innovative beet phenotyping project

Technology and breeding

As a seed company, breeding is essential for the development of new varieties that are resistant to all kinds of pests and diseases and suitable for specific climates.

Thanks to the BeetPhen project and the expertise of our research partners, we can more accurately and efficiently monitor the disease resistance of different sugar beet varieties, optimizing effort and cost, and speeding up our cultivation and selection programmes.

Drone-based phenotyping

Pathogens are constantly evolving, adapting to new crop varieties. Phenotyping based on drone-based imagery, has a number of advantages, compared to classical scoring. It is easy-to-use, timesaving and provides us with an efficient and objective tool for disease detection.

VITO has created an online platform for drone-based, high-throughput phenotyping, which is called 'MAPEO'. This platform translates the drone images for the breeders, focusing on the traits they're researching to breed the best disease-resistant sugar beet varieties.

Please visit VITO's blog site, for more information about MAPEO in the BeetPhen project.

The research presented in this webpage has been funded by BELSPO (Belgian Science Policy Office) in the frame of the STEREO III programme – project BEETPHEN - SR/00/346