Birte Boelt

Digital herbage seed production and research offer new possibilities but also new challenges. Technological, software, and algorithm development proceeds extremely rapidly, while the development of decision support systems and related agronomic and biological interpretation lags. These challenges must not prevent us from exploring new technology and methods in herbage seed production and research. We must recognize, however, that increasing the utilization of applied and available nutrients through the use of sensors, local weather data, and predictions, in combination with application algorithms, may not necessarily increase farmer revenue or reduce negative environmental impacts. Advanced field phenotyping holds great potential and is receiving a great deal of attention, based on publication frequency, and breeders will gain new knowledge from these technologies and methods. The use of advanced phenotyping in combination with crop models is an interesting area that undoubtedly will increase our basic knowledge of plant development and performance, which is necessary in order to better understand the interactions between nutrient utilization, optimal application timing for plant growth regulation, weed control, and other field operations. The conclusion is that digital herbage seed production and research are still in the early development stage.