YOUR INDUSTRY
Istvan Hajdu – research scientist at PlantTech – gathering ‘ground truth data’ as part of the project to determine if sun-induced fluorescence is an indicator of plant stress
Is fluorescence an answer to diagnosing plant stress? Kiwifruit vines on some Bay of Plenty orchards are under intense scrutiny from above and below as scientists gather information to discover how fluorescence emitted by their leaves can be used as an indication of plant stress. Elaine Fisher The international research is led by Tauranga’s PlantTech Research Institute and funded by a $1 million grant from the Ministry for Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) Endeavour Fund, New Zealand’s largest contestable research fund. The project has assembled a team of experts from PlantTech, Plant & Food Research, Massey University, Melbourne University in Australia and Durham University in the United Kingdom with international expertise in remote sensing, numerical physical simulations, machine learning and computer vision. 44
The ORCHARDIST : APRIL 2022
Principal research scientist leading the project, Dr Alvaro Orsi, says data is being collected from kiwifruit orchards at Matapihi and Katikati. “PlantTech will pass back the knowledge from this project to the growers from whose blocks data is collected. This is core to the project’s aims, which is not to stop with scientific research but to translate what is learned into actionable insights which growers can apply to create sustainable management practices.”
To gather the information required, data collection platforms mounted on drones, fixed wing aircraft and ground-based vehicles are measuring sun-induced fluorescence (SIF) which is an indicator of photosynthetic activity and plant stress, such as lack of water, hot temperatures and nutrient deficiency. Pests and disease also impact photosynthetic efficiency and can be probed by studying SIF. “We are collecting data from several locations to create a virtual 3D representation of an orchard. We aim to develop models to show how sunlight
