WinRHIZO, complete plant root measurement and analysis systems for agricultural and forestry research

For Root Morphology
And Architecture Measurement

WinRHIZO FEATURES

Regent's unique non-statistical root measurement method compensates for root overlap

WinRHIZO uses Regent's unique root measurement method which is non-statistical and requires no calibration by the operator. It detects overlapping root parts and takes them into account when calculating root length, area and volume.

Positioning roots without overlap in front of a video camera or a scanner can be quite difficult, tedious or even impossible. If these overlaps are not accounted for, the root morphological measurements will be underestimated. One standard method of compensating for overlap is based on statistics. It was proposed by Tennant (see below) and has been subsequently modified by others. Instead of relying on statistics, Regent has developed a method for detecting root overlaps, tips and forks (which are visible in the images) and taking them into account when measuring root length, area and volume. The method was first presented in 1995:

“WinRHIZO™, a root-measuring system with a unique overlap correction method”, Arsenault, J.-L., S. Pouleur, C. Messier, and R. Guay. 1995. HortScience 30: 906. (Abstract).

Tennant D. 1975, “A test of a modified line intersect method for estimating root length”. , J. Ecol. 63. pp. 995-1001.

Analyze regions of any shape

Regions can be used to analyse some parts of the image rather than the whole image. If for example there are a few isolated root in an image, you can select, identify and analyse them individually. The examples below illustrate some other applications.


Rectangular regions can be used to measure leaf area in cubicles. It is possible in WinRHIZO to store a set of analyzed regions (one per cubicle for example) which can be later retrieved to analyze the same areas in other images. This allows to keep track of seedling growth over time. Note: This application is typically done with images acquired with digital or video cameras. Care must be taken to the lighting system to avoid light reflections on the leaves.	Circular regions can be used to measure leaf area from foliar disks or to measure roots in petri dishes.	Irregular shape regions can be used to individually analyse roots that are close to each other.

Color analysis (Pro version only)
Color analysis allows you to quantify areas of specific colors or groups of colors and to measure root morphology as a function of color. The operator first indicates to WinRHIZO the color(s) of the objects to be analysed and those of the surrounding background. This is done interactively by clicking the mouse in the image. During the image analysis process, WinRHIZO classifies the colors present in the image into different classes before making the morphological measurements.
Root length, area, volume and number of tips can be measured as a function of color.

Measure thin laterals and main roots separately.	Quantify root disease or measure live and dead root separately when there are minimal color differences.

Nondestructive morphology measurement of roots in pouches.	Nodules quantification.

Mycorrhizal fungi total area quantification.	Ectomycorrhizal fungi morphology.
Note: The applications above come from tests done by Regent's people on samples submitted by WinRHIZO owners. These analyses work when there are minimal color differences among the feature to measure (root, fungi...) and their surrounding background. For such applications, different from what WinRHIZO was initially designed for, requires some experimentation with sample preparation and image acquisition in order to achieve good images suitable for automatic analysis. Some of the images above have been acquired with a camera not a scanner. Please contact us to verify that your samples can be analyzed with WinRHIZO before purchasing a system.

WinRHIZO can also be used as a color area meter
The area covered by each color allows for quantification of leaf disease and insect damage.

Color analysis can also be used to classify objects into groups in function of their color.

Note: If you are interested in color analysis alone (without root morphology) see our WinCAM products. WinCAM is a color area meter that can also be used for the above applications but which costs less than WinRHIZO.

The pixels classifier (Reg & Pro versions)

The Pixels Classifier allows you to verify and make modifications to the pixels classification into “root” and “background” categories. You can compare it to the resulting classification that can be obtained with other classification criteria and to override it for different image regions or for the whole image. You can also compare the pixels classification based on a grey level with the true color based method. As you experiment with new settings, you can visually compare the resulting pixels classifications and click buttons to select which classification to retain for the analysis.

OTHER FEATURES

Permanent calibration.
User definable root diameter intervals.
Possibility to exclude some parts of the analysed region.
Data saved in text files (ASCII format)
Runs on IBM-PC compatible computers under Windows 98, NT, 2000, ME, XP. Older versions for windows 95 and Macintosh computers can still be purchased.
Image edition is available to remove artifacts or image defects. You can pick up any color present in an image simply by clicking it. This color can then be used to edit the image.
You can add roots to an analysed image simply by drawing them. As they are drawn, the root length and other morphological parameters are added to the existing measurements. The operator selects the diameter class into which the roots are added.
Images can be analysed interactively or in batch (without operator supervision). Note: not all analyses can be done in batch.
You can print and save to a file the images with or without their analysis skeleton over them.
Debris can be removed from the analysis is some circumstances. When they are not in contact with roots they can be filtered out based on their area (anything smaller than a specified area is treated as debris) or on their length/width ratio (debris tend to be round while roots are elongated). Debris can also be filtered out when they have a color contrasting with roots (Pro & Arabidopsis versions only).
WinRHIZO comes with prompt and competent aftersale technical support. WinRHIZO is produced by Regent's personnel, not by subcontracted firms. This means you can give feedback or ask questions to the programmers that wrote the program (via technical support by email).
WinRHIZO is updated regularly (typically once a year). Click to view the version's release dates and features over the last years.
WinRHIZO comes with printed color manuals which are abundantly illustrated. The manuals are divided into three sections devoted to installation, introduction and reference. When a complete system is purchased, we also provide a manual that shows how to scan biological samples for analyses with our programs. The Pro version comes with an additional manual that teaches how to do color analyses and illustrates some applications.
WinRHIZO's optical scanner can be shared with other Regent's applications (see below) or it can be used for other scientific or non-scientific applications like documents and photo scanning, desktop publishing, optical character recognition and teledetection:

WinDENDRO for annual tree ring analysis,
WinFOLIA for leaf analysis,
WinSEEDLE for seed and conifer needle analysis.

To learn more about WinRHIZO click the following links or you can download our WinRHIZO brochure (1.3 MB).

WinRHIZO

WinRHIZO program for washed root analysis is available in three versions. Click to learn about the measurements that each version can perform.

WinRHIZO program features.

NEXT--> WinRHIZO design philosophy and the alternatives.

WinRHIZO image acquisition components.

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