Experts at two Midlands universities are starting a new project to develop a photonic ‘nose’ to monitor crops for pest infestations and plant disease.
The Midlands-based research will be using strawberries to test the new technology. The fruit is worth £350 million to the UK economy but it is vulnerable to potato aphid which can wipe out an annual harvest.
Harper Adams University is collaborating with Aston University to research and develop technology using light to monitor crop health. Currently crops are treated with pesticides, but there’s increasing pressure to find alternatives due to the environmental impact.
One method is to use integrated pest management to create an early warning system. It monitors plants for build-up of insects and diseases rather than spraying plants with chemicals, but so far it’s proven unreliable and expensive.
The project uses photonics technology that can analyse low levels of volatile organic compounds emitted by plants, which indicate their health. This is coupled with machine learning hardware to use artificial intelligence in commercial settings.
David Webb, of the Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies, said: “Better invertebrate pest and plant disease monitoring technologies will significantly help cut crop losses.
“However most electronic noses use electrochemical sensors, which suffer from sensitivity issues, sensor drift/aging effects and lack specificity. We intend to address this by building on the fast-moving technology of photonics – the science of light – whilst collaborating with scientists in other disciplines.”
The 12-month project is to receive £200,000 from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Natural Environment Research Council.
