PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
July 2016
471
BOOK
REVIEW
Plant Image Analysis: Fundamentals and
Applications
Editors: S. Dutta Gupta, Yasuomi Ibaraki.
CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. 2014. 398 pp., diagrams,
tables, photos, images, color inserts, index. Hardcover: alk. paper.
£108.00 ($155.56). ISBN 978-1-4665-8301-6
Reviewed by
Mykola V. Volkogon, PhD, Senior
Researcher, Department of Plant Physiology and
Ecology, Educational and Scientific Centre “Institute
of Biology”, Taras Shevchenko National University of
Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Starting with the front page the editors of “
Plant Image
Analysis: Fundamentals and Applications
” S. Dutta Gupta
and Yasuomi Ibaraki outlined the broad topic they have
addressed. They lead the discussion from the very basic
explanation of the concept of imagery, through the description
of various techniques to the imagery application in plant
biology, medicine and agriculture. In a step-by-step narration,
the authors provide an in-depth explanation of the matter thus
anticipating the wide use of the described material, not only by
plant professionals but also as a comprehensive teaching tool
for graduate and Ph.D. students.
The book has 16 chapters, each focusing on the specific topic
of plant image analysis. After the
Introduction
chapter with
the overview of image analysis operations, algorithms and
data representation authors briefly discuss the
Procedures
and Techniques
of plant imagery, denoting the emerging role
of electromagnetic waves and hyperspectral imaging for the
analysis of physiological and functional properties of plants as
well as the use of fluorescence imagery in research of plants
reaction to stress. Development of photometric feature-based
imaging has enhanced the studies of various aspects of plants
phenotyping. In next two chapters, Chapter 3 & 4, the authors
describe the use of RGB-based imaging focusing on its practical
applications in grain quality determination, fruit inspection,
nitrogen status of plants, identification of weeds and disease
pressure on crops as well as in noninvasive phenotyping of
plant culture systems.
Imaging applications in plant biology review that was made
within the introductory sections creates a good ground for
the next book chapters, where authors explain in details the
experimental methods and give valuable guidelines for the
in vitro
plantlets studies: nitrogen use efficiency, Chapter 5,
and growth parameters, Chapter 6, that provide an important
theoretical basis for large scale determination in tissue culture
of rational nitrogen utilization and calculation of plants
volume and biomass.
Other great aspects of plant imaging analysis application
on organismic level are described in Chapters 7 and 8 with
the emphasis on seed germination and evaluation of seedling
growth, respectively, where authors outline on the use of
high-throughput automated systems for different quality
measurements.
Plant phenotyping using anatomofunctional bimodality
imaging is discussed in Chapter 9. Using the host-pathogen
example, authors provide practical information on three-
dimensional image registration procedure required for
coupling of depth and thermal cameras.
Plant health thread is continued through the discussion
of chlorophyll fluorescence imaging methods: saturation
pulse method and induction method, used for measuring of
photosynthetic activity of plants with the special attention
payed to the technical and engineering aspects of their
application, Chapter 10. Besides chlorophyll fluorescence
imaging, authors denote next, Chapter 11, to the application of
photochemical reflectance index and image-based estimation
of light intensity distribution on plant canopy surfaces, which
allows simple and nondestructive evaluation of photosynthetic
properties of plants.
With the specific role played by reactive oxygen and nitrogen
species in plant stress biology their accurate detection
acquires the great importance in plant research. Advances
in microscopy make possible ROS and NOS imaging using
various microscopical techniques, Chapter 12, and fluorescent
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing
Vol. 82, No. 7, July 2016, pp. 471–472.
0099-1112/16/471–472
© 2016 American Society for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing
doi: 10.14358/PERS.82.7.471
