Abstract
Fluorescence imaging has shown great potential in non-invasive plant monitoring and analysis. However, current systems have several limitations, such as bulky size, high cost, contact measurement, and lack of multifunctionality, which may hinder its applications in a wide range of settings including indoor vertical farming. Herein, we developed a compact handheld fluorescence imager enabling multipurpose plant phenotyping, such as continuous photosynthetic activity monitoring and non-destructive anthocyanin quantification. The compact imager comprises of pulse-amplitude-modulated multi-color light emitting diodes (LEDs), optimized light illumination and collection, dedicated driver circuit board, miniaturized charge-coupled device camera, and associated image analytics. Experiments conducted in drought stressed lettuce proved that the novel imager could quantitatively evaluate the plant stress by the non-invasive measurement of photosynthetic activity efficiency. Moreover, a non-invasive and fast quantification of anthocyanins in green and red Batavia lettuce leaves had excellent correlation (>84%) with conventional destructive biochemical analysis. Preliminary experimental results emphasize the high throughput monitoring capability and multifunctionality of our novel handheld fluorescence imager, indicating its tremendous potential in modern agriculture.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have