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A novel world class technology, that can dynamically measure the health and stress of a living system.
About
A novel world class technology, that can dynamically measure the health and stress of a living system. The fibre optic sensor technology can be placed under the surface in the stem of a plant to provide continuous, real-time redox information about the plant. The device is very unique because it measures the plant’s respiration by-products, which indicates how stressed the plant is and when the stress is balanced. For the first time, this can provide a dynamic quality control measure of plant stress to not only maximise product quality but also minimise the cost of water, added nutrients and other inputs such as pest or pathogen controls. This has the potential to reduce operating costs, improve yield, productivity and profitability through increased production efficiency and quality. Conceptually, this is analogous to tracking physiological performance and recovery of an athlete, to enable decisions that will maximise long-term consistent output.
Key Benefits
- measures the heath and stress of a plant - potential to reduce operating costs. - improves plant quality and yield.
Applications
Viticulture application Modern methods of growing grapes involve irrigation methods and crop manipulation to put vines under stress to produce better quality fruit. Struggling vines concentrate more energy on fruit production which improves grape quality, while deficient irrigation systems and zoning reduces water usage. A key goal for modern viticulture is to achieve the above with no loss in yield; a trade-off that normally occurs with enhanced grape quality. Our technology is a significant process improvement for modern viticulture since the stress can be quantified for tighter control and optimal quality fruit, on the living vine. To ensure stress, yield and quality balance, the software is able to continuously analyse the stress signals from multiple plants of a whole vineyard and provide real-time, dynamic feedback and alerts. Cannabis application Despite being an unusually hardy plant that can survive in a wide variety of conditions, Cannabis is a plant of growing commercial importance that requires careful environmental control in order to thrive. The growing environment, mostly attributed to facility design, is responsible for most of the factors that determine Cannabis plant health. From air pressure, flow, quality and humidity to temperature and light, tight control of the growth environment reduces plant stress leading to strong, healthy and productive cannabis plants. Our technology is significant for high value crops such as cannabis, since the stress of the plants can be monitored to ensure the environment is precisely regulated for optimal yield and quality. Real-time feedback and alerts from the device and associated software can help alleviate stress, maximise yield and quality from multiple cannabis plants in a facility.