2018 ASHS Annual Conference

Ornamental cultivars need to be attractive throughout the growing season so there is a need for repeated evaluations on a range of ornamental and adaptation traits. Essential traits would be growth rate, flower productivity, flower size, flower color, leaf density, and disease resistance. Traditionally breeders evaluate their materials 2-3 times per year that results in an incomplete picture of the plant performance. In 2016, selected rose genotypes in a rose variety trial were photographed using with a tablet with a camera mounted on a selfie stick to obtain an overhead picture (2 m height) of the plant. In 2017, the entire field was photographed using an octocopter with a RGB camera at an altitude of 18 m. Concurrently the plots were evaluated on a monthly basis for flower intensity, defoliation, black spot incidence, cercospora incidence and landscape quality. The calculation of flower intensity of the digital images correlated well with the visual ratings of flower intensity. Using this approach, the rose plants were assessed for their ability to produce flowers through the year.