Plant Growth Monitoring: Design, Fabrication, and Feasibility Assessment of Wearable Sensors Based on Fiber Bragg Gratings

Abstract

Global climate change and exponential population growth pose a challenge to agricultural outputs. In this scenario, novel techniques have been proposed to improve plant growth and increase crop yields. Wearable sensors are emerging as promising tools for the non-invasive monitoring of plant physiological and microclimate parameters. Features of plant wearables, such as easy anchorage to different organs, compliance with natural surfaces, high flexibility, and biocompatibility, allow for the detection of growth without impacting the plant functions. This work proposed two wearable sensors based on fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) within silicone matrices. The use of FBGs is motivated by their high sensitivity, multiplexing capacities, and chemical inertia. Firstly, we focused on the design and the fabrication of two plant wearables with different matrix shapes tailored to specific plant organs (i.e., tobacco stem and melon fruit). Then, we described the sensors' metrological properties to investigate the sensitivity to strain and the influence of environmental factors, such as temperature and humidity, on the sensors' performance. Finally, we performed experimental tests to preliminary assess the capability of the proposed sensors to monitor dimensional changes of plants in both laboratory and open field settings. The promising results will foster key actions to improve the use of this innovative technology in smart agriculture applications for increasing crop products quality, agricultural efficiency, and profits.

Plant phenotyping relevance

植物の茎・果実の寸法変化を測定するFBGウェアラブルセンサーを設計・製作し、性能評価と実証を行った、中心的な植物フェノタイピング手法研究である。

Code and data availability

The supplied blocks describe FBG-based wearable plant sensors, calibration experiments, and MATLAB data analysis, but contain no data availability statements, no public phenotype datasets, no deposited images or sensor recordings, and no author code repository or URL. Analysis is only described as performed 'in MATLAB'

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