Uwe Rascher is head of the research area ‘Shoot Dynamics’ at the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences at Forschungszentrum Jülich. Additionally, he is Professor for ‘Quantitative Crop Physiology’ at Bonn University. In his research he combines concepts and knowledge of plant physiology, remote sensing, ecology, global climate change and plant phenotyping. His main expertise is in characterizing photosynthesis using chlorophyll fluorescence, hyperspectral reflectance, gas-exchange, remote sensing and image analysis techniques. In the frame of several interdisciplinary and international collaborations he is using novel remote sensing approaches to better measure photosynthesis and stress, develops novel plant phenotyping concepts, and uses these data to model plant mediated exchange processes from the leaf to the region. This knowledge is applied for a wide range of crops and management systems, including cassava. Within the cassava source-sink project the group of Uwe Rascher developed a novel UAV based approach to map the 3-dimensional growth dynamics of large cassava fields and they will now move forward to quantify the seasonal dynamics of photosynthetic carbon gain in different cassava lines under the prevailing changing environmental conditions. Ecophysiology of Photosynthesis / Optical remote sensing / Fluorescence / Crop eco-physiology

Onno Muller is deputy head of the research area ‘Shoot Dynamics’ and group leader field phenotyping at the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences 2 : Plant Sciences at Forschungszentrum Jülich. His expertise is on the plant response to the environment focusing on photosynthesis. In different positions in Japan and the USA he worked in natural ecosystems with seasonal changes in temperature and light and combined with experimental warming at a forest scale or in growth chambers on various crops. In Germany he implemented and is coordinating field phenotyping under elevated CO2 in the BreedFACE, as well under photovoltaics in the APV 2.0. project among others where he combines ground-based positions systems as well as UAVs. In the Cassava source-sink project the UAV approach was adapted to Cassava growing in breeders plot in Nigeria and experimental cassava field trials in Taiwan where it is currently being combined with photosynthesis measurement. Plant ecophysiology /Active chlorophyll fluorescence measurements / controlled field experiments

Juan Quiros is an agronomist specializing in the use of remote sensing tools to assess vegetation functioning. He earned his MSc at the University of São Paulo (Brazil), where he used Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imagery to study the performance of various legume varieties in the field; atopic that he further explored in more detail as a research associate at Washington State University (USA). In 2019, Juan joined Uwe Rascher’s group at Forschungszentrum Jülich as an Early Stage Researcher. From 2021 to 2023, he completed his Ph.D. at the University of Bonn (Germany), investigating the relationship between airborne-sensed chlorophyll fluorescence and the plant-available water on the soil over three crops. Currently, he holds a postdoctoral position where he leads the field photosynthesis phenotyping for the CASS project, based on pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) technologies. He also collaborates closely with Prof. Gruissem’s team on analyzing the seasonal growth of cassava varieties in Taiwan from UAV imagery.

Robert Koller is leading the research area ‘Enabling Technologies’ at the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences (IBG) 2: Plant Sciences at Forschungszentrum Jülich Gmbh in Germany. The focus of the research area is on the development and application of non-invasive technologies that enable in-depth as well as high-throughput measurements of plant traits. Robert’s expertise is in the field of plant physiology, plant biotic and abiotic interactions and plant phenotyping – including technology development. He extended his expertise in the last years to seed sciences and sustainable bioeconomy. In the project Robert, is investigating, together with Ralf Metzner, the transport dynamics of recently fixed C in stems and (storage-) roots of wildtypes and newly developed cassava lines. To reach this, they apply the short lived 11C to trace recently fixed carbon from source to sinks using Positron Emission Tomography (PET). In combination with PET, Magnetic Resonance Imaging is applied for structural imaging of the 11C transport routes.

Dr. Ralf Metzner is deputy group leader of the research area ‘Enabling Technologies’ and group leader radiotracers at the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences (IBG) 2: Plant Sciences at Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany. His expertise is on plant physiology focussing on long distance transport and methods development for 3D imaging technologies. He has worked in different functions with stable and short-lived isotopes and their detection. At Forschungszentrum Jülich he implemented and is coordinating the plant radiotracer approaches with short-lived isotopes and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) on a variety of species ranging from Arabidopsis to Poplar. He is also involved in application of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) on plant roots as a complementary technique to PET for root structural imaging. In the Cassava source sink project, we aim at adapting the non-invasive PET approach to Cassava. PET will be used for calculating transport dynamics of the short lived 11C-tracer for recently fixed carbon that is transported from source leaves to sinks. Our approach will be applied to stems and (storage) roots of wildtype and new cassava lines developed in the project.