About This Project

We propose to build an inexpensive, open source, portable radio measurement system that can characterize high-value fruit and tree nut crops. While radiometry has been applied to questions of fruit and tree nut quality, to our knowledge, it has not been widely used to measure plant health in situ. Previous research suggests that radio imaging can be used to detect anomalies in plant tissue that are otherwise not visible, and can be used to nondestructively measure plant biomass.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Non-invasive technologies to measure plant physiology and development can provide valuable new sources of data for horticultural, and agronomic research. If low-cost tools can be deployed in the field, researchers can gain a better understanding of questions in situ, rather than in artificial settings.

Traditional imaging, whether RGB, multispectral, or hyperspectral, has been successfully used to support research in the above areas, but there has been comparatively limited use of tools that can observe interior structures and processes akin to the way computed tomography and other radio imaging techniques have been used in human medicine.

What is the significance of this project?

Low-cost radiometric measurement tools can provide an important new source for data in plant biology, forestry, and agricultural research. This could help improve understanding of how practices in pruning, irrigation, nutrient management, and pest management affect the unseen interior structure of trees and vines. In turn, this understanding can lead to new, site-specific recommendations for horticultural and viticultural practices that can enhance the sustainability of crop production, especially in light of climate change and associated ecosystem disruption.

What are the goals of the project?

We intend to test our proposed imaging system by measuring plant biomass during the growing season, focusing initially on vineyards and orchards in Oregon and California.

We will compare measurements of healthy trees and vines with those that are known to be infected with trunk diseases, or nutrient/water deficiency issues.

To provide additional information about the usefulness of our approach, we will compare the performance of our system with plant health measurements made by other methods, such as tissue and soil sampling, sap flow measurements, and visual inspection.