Researchers in China have developed a new imaging system for plants that can be used to monitor photosynthesis at different parts of the plant. It is designed to work for field or greenhouse grown crops and could be used to help growers respond rapidly to changes in the plant and adjust irrigation, fertilization or pest management practices. It could also potentially be used with unmanned aerial vehicles to remotely monitor crops in the future.
The imaging system works by detecting fluorescences emitted from chlorophyll, the green pigment that is essential for plant photosynthesis. This new system can be used to measure an area of 45 by 34 centimeters, which is about four times larger than current commercial offerings for chlorophyll imaging. The larger detection area is key to the system’s potential use in the field, or greenhouse, as it greatly increases the efficiency and practicality of imaging crops.
This system will help to move chlorophyll imaging from the laboratory and out into the field. It will be able to help growers with agronomic decisions by allowing to measure plant health and react. It is also potentially very useful for plant breeding programs, because it can be used to phenotype different plant genetics and could be used to quantify improvements in plant health, vigor or other genetic gains. For example, drought resistance could be measured with this tool. Large amounts of data would be easier to acquire which could improve efficiency and accuracy in crop trials of any type.
The new system works by using 16 lighting modules, each with a high power LED, that illuminate chlorophyll and then it measures the results fluorescence emitted from the pigments. For each lighting module used, the researched engineered a series of lenses and other components to create a rectangular illumination area through spot reshaping processes. This allows them to achieve strong and even lighting over a wide area.
The new device was tested by researchers on cucumber seedlings grown under both drought conditions, and with nitrogen deficiency. In both cases, the devices was able to track and quantify the plant’s decline over time. Researchers are continuing to make improvements on the lenses and optical components as well as working to make the device lighter and more practical for field use. In the future they’d like to see it implement on a unmanned aerial vehicle which would allow growers to remotely monitor crops with a high degree of detail about plant health.
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