Quantitative and qualitative phenotyping of disease resistance of crops by hyperspectral sensors: seamless interlocking of phytopathology, sensors, and machine learning is needed!

•Digital phenotyping technologies support characterization of crop resistance against plant pathogens.•Recent studies investigated specific resistance reaction or disease susceptibility by optical sensors.•Phenotyping disease resistance can follow two strategies: assessing changes during resistance reactions and the level of susceptibility.•Artificial intelligence is pivotal to exploit the full potential of complex data and to accomplish interpretable summaries.•For a holistic view on disease resistance an integration of genotype–phenotype data will provide new insights into host–pathogen interactions.