Strawberry Greenhouse monitoring

strawberries
Strawberries (Image courtesy Creative Commons)

Latest sensor report

Weekly microclimate summaries

Logging mildew At Risk Hours and Growing Degree Days allows greenhouse interventions to be planned, contact us for more information.

Strawberry plant health

Colour images of leaves are used as a record of crop health. Representative leaves from each variety are imaged.  Computer vision algorithms are used to produce indexes of chlorophyll and carotenoids pigment concentrations.

 
strawberry leaf
Smartphone strawberry leaf image taken with Leafbox

Leaf images were taken using a Leafbox, which allows the calculation of chlorophyll and carotenoid values. These index values can be thought of as similar to micro-molar (μM) concentrations of pigments in solution.

Fertiliser strawberry leaf response
Measure strawberry plant response to fertiliser

Changes in chlorophyll and carotenoid levels can be used to monitor responses to nutritional interventions and alert to progressive changes in plant health. Following extensive growth and fruit bearing, leaf pigment concentrations dropped. To restore the energy efficiency of the Centenary leaves, a liquid feed (N:P:K 8:34:32) was applied in weeks 22, 23 and 24. The figure above shows a marked increase in chlorophyll concentration by week 25. A similar response is seen in week 30 following further nutrient application in week 29.