Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42002746›Full record

ArticlePlant methods2026

Robust estimation of rice flag leaf inclination angle from SfM-MVS point clouds via ensemble skeleton extraction: validation in field and pot experiments.

Ting Sun, Haoyang Zhou, Zhuoting Lu, Minglu Li, Jing Cao, Jianan Hu, Jiayi Zhang, Yuanyuan Pan, Ran Bi, Shenghao Ye and 5 more

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Article in Plant methods, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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Authors and funding

15 authors.

Ting Sun *Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences Wuxi Branch, Wuxi, 214174, Jiangsu, China.
Haoyang Zhou *College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 35002, Fujian, China.
Zhuoting LuYanqiao Subdistrict Office, Huishan District, Wuxi, 214174, Jiangsu, China.
Minglu LiCollege of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 35002, Fujian, China.
Jing CaoJiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences Wuxi Branch, Wuxi, 214174, Jiangsu, China.
Jianan HuJiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences Wuxi Branch, Wuxi, 214174, Jiangsu, China.
Jiayi ZhangJiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences Wuxi Branch, Wuxi, 214174, Jiangsu, China.
Yuanyuan PanJiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences Wuxi Branch, Wuxi, 214174, Jiangsu, China.
Ran BiJiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences Wuxi Branch, Wuxi, 214174, Jiangsu, China.
Shenghao YeJiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences Wuxi Branch, Wuxi, 214174, Jiangsu, China.
Menglei WeiJiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences Wuxi Branch, Wuxi, 214174, Jiangsu, China.
Pingping FangQuzhou Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation and Utilization of Crop, Quzhou Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Quzhou, 324000, Zhejiang, China.
Yue YangJiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences Wuxi Branch, Wuxi, 214174, Jiangsu, China.
Min JiangCollege of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 35002, Fujian, China. fjaujm@fafu.edu.cn.
Wenyu ZhangJiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences Wuxi Branch, Wuxi, 214174, Jiangsu, China. research@wwery.cn.

Funding

Basic Research Program of Jiangsu Province BK20250298National Key Research and Development Program of China 2022YFD2001001
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLeaf inclination angle (LIA) is a key trait affecting crop canopy structure and photosynthetic efficiency, but its accurate measurement is challenging due to complex leaf geometry, especially in narrow, curved rice leaves. As the flag leaf serves as the primary photosynthetic organ in rice, the precise spatial parsing of its architecture is crucial for optimizing canopy light interception and yield potential. With the rapid development of high-throughput phenotyping technologies, an increasing number of studies have focused on the fine-grained characterization of 3D crop architecture. However, accurate methodologies for extracting the flag leaf inclination angle (FLIA) in rice, as well as systematic investigations into its spatiotemporal variation patterns, remain largely unexplored.

resultsIn this study, we systematically evaluated multiple plane-fitting strategies based on SfM-MVS point clouds, finding that voxel-based piecewise analysis outperformed traditional global approaches. To further improve accuracy, skeleton extraction methods were innovatively extended to LIA estimation. A proposed multi-method ensemble, based on the median of eight skeleton extraction combinations, yielded high robustness (R2 = 0.923, RMSE = 2.072°) against photographic ground truth. By applying the proposed framework to both field- and pot-grown rice, we observed no significant FLIA differences between varieties or nitrogen treatments under field-grown conditions, likely due to phenotypic plasticity regulated by population effects. However, pot-grown plants, experiencing reduced interplant competition, exhibited significant varietal differences in FLIA. Across growth environments, varieties, and nitrogen treatments, FLIA at maturity was significantly lower than at anthesis and grain filling stages due to leaf senescence.

conclusionsThis study establishes a robust and accurate measurement framework for LIA based on 3D point clouds, improving estimation performance through piecewise analysis, voxelization, and ensemble strategies. The proposed approach is demonstrated to be an effective tool for the precise quantification of rice leaf phenotypes.

Indexed as

3D reconstructionLeaf inclination angle (LIA)Point cloud processingRiceSkeleton extraction

Identifiers

PMID42002746
PMCPMC13227768

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