Data and scripts for: Genetic dissection of seasonal vegetation index dynamics in maize through aerial based high-throughput phenotyping

Plant phenotyping under field conditions plays an important role in agricultural research. Efficient and accurate high-throughput phenotyping strategies enable a better connection between genotype and phenotype. Unmanned aerial vehicle-based high-throughput phenotyping platforms (UAV-HTPPs) provide novel opportunities for large-scale proximal measurement of plant traits with high efficiency, high resolution, and low cost. The objective of this study was to use time series normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) extracted from UAV-based multispectral imagery to characterize its pattern across development and conduct genetic dissection of NDVI in a large maize population. The time series NDVI data from the multispectral sensor were obtained at 5 time points across the growing season for 1,752 diverse maize accessions with a UAV-HTPP. Cluster analysis of the acquired measurements classified 1,752 maize accessions into 2 groups with distinct NDVI developmental trends. To capture the d...