Opening soon for business: workshop on crop ontology and phenotyping data

Thursday, 27 March 2014 10:39

Image of laptop computer on cracked earthFrom 31st March to 4th April 2014, the Workshop on crop ontology and phenotyping data interoperability will take place in Montpellier, France.

The workshop is co-organised by GCP, Bioversity International, CIRAD (Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement), in partnership with France’s INRA (Institut national de la recherche agronomique) and IRD (Institut de recherche pour le développement), and the Scientific Group of Interest on Plant Biotechnologies, GIS Biotechnologies Vertes (GIS BV). This event brings together experts in crop science to exchange news and views on the cutting edge of crop ontology, data interoperability, phenotyping platforms and networks, and open data for breeding.

Born in GCP, growing up in IBP

GCP-logo-web-100newLOGO-IBP-100The Crop Ontology (CO) began back in 2008 as a GCP project in the Crop Information Systems Theme, as an attempt to harness the increasing volume of agriculture-related information and to harmonise the terminology used across the disciplines to describe crop phenotypes. The CO is currently maintained by eight CGIAR Centres and their country partners, and covers 18 crops: banana, barley, beans, cassava, chickpeas, cowpeas, groundnuts, lentils, maize, pearl millet, pigeonpeas, potatoes, rice, sorghum, soya beans, sweet potatoes, wheat and yam. CO is an open source of standard lists of traits, methods and scales for breeders’ fieldbooks and crop information systems.

It is envisaged that workshop participants will share their vision and suggestions for the future of the CO within the proposed Phase II of GCP’s Integrated Breeding Platform (IBP), and its contribution to other international products.

The workshop programme is split into three phases:

  1. 31st March–2nd April: The Crop Ontology project
  2. 3rd April: Data interoperability for the phenotyping platforms and networks – Experience-sharing from partners
  3. 4th April (morning): Open data for breeding – Presentation of open data strategies and discussion about the benefit of such strategies for breeding

More information on the workshop website

Links