Edition No. 1
AGRICULTURE High-Tech Instrumentation for the Agriculture Industry
THERMAL IMAGING AS PROTECTION AGAINST ACCIDENTS WITH AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY
Nitrogen Status Assessment for Variable Rate Fertilisation in Maize CASE STUDY: VERTICAL FARMING
Seeds of The Future Quality Assurance in Potato Storage REMOTE SENSING OF VEGETATION USING SWIR CAMERAS UAV
HIGH-TECH INSTRUMENTATION FOR THE AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY A Magazine by QDUKI
Highlights ANIMAL WELFARE: THERMAL IMAGING AS PROTECTION AGAINST ACCIDENTS WITH AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY
NITROGEN STATUS ASSESSMENT FOR VARIABLE RATE FERTILISATION IN MAIZE
Seeds of The Future CASE STUDY: VERTICAL FARMING Quality Assurance in Potato Storage
REMOTE SENSING OF VEGETATION USING SWIR CAMERAS UAV
Contents 4-
Foreword
5-
Thermal Imaging in Agriculture
6-
Infrared Cameras for Plant Research
7-
Quality Assurance in Potato Storage
8-
Precision Agriculture
9-
Nitrogen Status Assessment for Variable Rate Fertilisation in Maize
12 -
Animal Husbandry and Thermal Imaging
14 -
CASE STUDY: Vertical Farming
18 -
Multiple Agricultural Applications … From the Air
21 -
Our Other Magazines
22 -
CASE STUDY: The Seeds of the Future
25 -
Have Your Say
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FOREWORD Quantum Design (QD) has been a leader
Precision farming, plant research, quality
in high-tech instrumentation for over 40
assurance, and animal husbandry are key
years, with renowned systems like the
topics featured in this magazine. QDUKI
MPMS and VersaLab. At Quantum Design
is
UK and Ireland (QDUKI), we aim to share
developments,
and
our
hearing
challenges
equipment
expertise
with
our
customers and expand their deployment
proud
to
your
contribute look
to
these
forward and
to
finding
suitable solutions.
into new markets. We partner with other market leaders such as InfraTec and Specim Hyperspectral to ensure our customers have access to the right solution for their application. Agriculture has seen a large growth in investment for research and development in recent years and we have endeavoured to help our
customers
techniques,
such
implement as
new
multispectral,
hyperspectral and thermal imaging to solve their agricultural challenges.
Dr. Luke Nicholls TECHNICAL SALES MANAGER
ends 31st August 2024 selected lines only
WWW.QD-UKI.CO.UK Quantum Design UK and Ireland is part of the Quantum Design International (QDI) group. QDI is a global laboratory equipment manufacturer. The company distributes scientific and industrial instrumentation through an international network, with subsidiaries in every major technological centre around the world.
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THERMAL IMAGING IN AGRICULTURE In agriculture and precision farming, economic, ecological and social factors have become increasingly important. In this context, sustainable agriculture in terms of resource conservation and environmental compatibility, agrobiodiversity, plant protection and population supply are among the objectives.
Thermal imaging can help to gain targeted knowledge, for example to promote the biodiversity of crops and to breed more robust varieties. For many years, thermal imaging has therefore been established as a measurement method in agriculture. Both on the ground and from the air, it provides reliable data on the temperature distribution and allows a real-time assessment of the condition.
In the context of precision farming, thermal imaging and agricultural research offers the opportunity of: Recording different microclimatic conditions Determining the yield capacity within a field Drawing conclusions about plant development and health Monitoring the storage of seeds and harvested products
All this happens without contact or influence on the plants
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INFRARED CAMERAS FOR PLANT RESEARCH Growing crops such as cereals, beet or others is becoming increasingly challenging. Environmental conditions such as extreme heat, drought or persistent rainfall affect the health and growth of the plants. Therefore, the aim of certain research projects is to develop more resistant and robust varieties. One way of doing this is to use infrared cameras. If plants are under drought stress, for example, their temperature changes compared to normal. It is therefore possible to measure the exact surface temperatures on the leaf and their distribution with the help of thermal imaging. The decisive factor here is transpiration, that means, the evaporation of water over the leaf surface.
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Fig. 1: Thermographic image of the leaf temperature
Heat is produced by all processes inside the plant. It is absorbed during the transpiration of water and released via the leaf surface. If there is too little water, this heat cannot be optimally dissipated, and the plant's temperature rises. Even the smallest temperature changes can then be detected with infrared cameras from InfraTec due to the high thermal resolution of up to 20 mK. One feature of the cameras is that they have different, fast interchangeable lenses.
Fig. 2: Measuring set-up for determining leaf temperature with infrared camera and monitor. (Image: KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA)
This makes it easy to adapt to almost any object size and distance in order to achieve optimal results. The resulting research findings provide insights into how adaptable and robust a plant variety is and which varieties will continue to be bred. KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA uses an infrared camera from InfraTec for this purpose.
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QUALITY ASSURANCE IN POTATO STORAGE Owing to their characteristics, potatoes place very high demands on storage with as little loss as possible. Their very high water content makes the earth tuber particularly susceptible to mould and rot. An additional challenge is the maintenance of a constant storage temperature. If the temperature is too low, the potato starch is converted into sugar; if the temperature is too high, too much water evaporates and the potatoes become wrinkled and start to sprout. To ensure an optimal storage temperature, exact process control is necessary, which can be achieved with the help of thermal imaging, among other things. This is because infrared cameras make it possible to monitor large areas of the warehouse and detect even the slightest temperature changes due to their high measurement accuracy.
The advantage of a thermal imaging camera over temperature sensors is that due to a geometrical resolution up to 3.1 megapixels, temperatures can be measured in much greater detail and more efficiently than with a point-by-point measurement. The cameras therefore provide an overall picture of local differences in temperature curves on the surface of the stored goods. The data obtained thus enables process optimisation and optimal climate control.
Learn more about InfraTec range
TALK TO US Discuss your application and the InfraTec thermographic with our Technical Sales Manager, Dr. Luke Nicholls Call (01372) 378822 | Email luke@qd-uki.co.uk
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PRECISION AGRICULTURE In plant condition analysis, so-called precision farming, the transpiration of the plants also plays a decisive role. As in plant research, leaf temperature is also measured here to obtain information about the water balance of the plants, but here aiming at growth control and optimisation as well as needs-based irrigation planning. Leaf temperature provides information about the water balance and the state of health of plants
InfraTec's thermography systems provide the benefits of a large detector format with (1,024 x 768) IR pixels or the innovative MicroScan technology, which enables images to be taken with (2,048 x 1,536) IR pixels and thus enables large-area observations.
Another field of application is the detection of plant diseases and pest infestations. The transpiration of a plant depends not only on external conditions such as wind, temperature and humidity, but also on the plant-specific surface properties. If a leaf is affected by pest infestation or a plant disease, the transpiration behaviour changes.
This in turn becomes clear through the change in leaf temperature and can be measured with the help of an infrared camera. Here, too, InfraTec cameras detect the slightest differences in temperature. As a result, it is possible to react immediately to the infestation or disease and organise appropriate analyses and the use of plant protection products.
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Nitrogen Status Assessment for Variable Rate Fertilisation in Maize through Hyperspectral Imagery
You can read the full article on our website: Read the full article
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Remote Sens. 2014, 6(7), 6549-6565;
Abstract
Leaf and canopy field data were collected for
during the flight. The nitrogen (N) status
mapping the nitrogen (N) status in a maize
has been estimated in this work based on
field using hyperspectral remote sensing
the Nitrogen Nutrition Index (NNI), defined
imagery.
was
as the ratio between the leaf actual N
conducted with a Specim AISA Eagle
concentration (%Na) of the crop and the
hyperspectral
an
minimum N content required for the
experimental farm where maize (Zea mays
maximum biomass production (critical N
L.) was grown with two N fertilisation
concentration (%Nc)) calculated through
levels (0 and 100 kg N ha−1) in four
the dry mass at the time of the flight
replicates.
(Wflight).
This
paper
An
presents
a
airborne sensor
method
survey over
Figure 1. Experimental field location in Northern Italy and treatment scheme. Light green represents the not fertilised maize plots (N0) and dark green the plots treated with 100 kg N ha−1 (N1). The irrigation levels are shown as small circles in rainfed plots (IRR0), medium circles in water deficit plots (IRR1) and large circles in full irrigation plots (IRR2).The field was sown on 3 June 2010, and N fertiliser was applied manually twentyone days after sowing.
TALK TO US Discuss your application and the Specim AISA Eagle with our Technical Sales Manager, Dr. Luke Nicholls Call (01372) 378822 Email luke@qd-uki.co.uk
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The inputs required to calculate the NNI (i.e., %Na and Wflight) have been estimated through regression analyses between
field
sensed
data
and
remotely
vegetation
indices.
MCARI/MTVI2
(Modified
Chlorophyll
Absorption
Ratio
Index/Modified
Triangular Vegetation Index 2) showed the best performances in estimating the %Na (R2 = 0.59) and MTVI2 in estimating the Wflight (R2 = 0.80). The %Na and the Wflight were then mapped and used to compute the NNI map over the entire field. The NNI map agreed with the NNI estimated using field data through traditional destructive measurements (R2 = 0.70) confirming the potential of using
remotely
sensed
indices
to
assess the crop N condition. Finally, a method to derive a pixel based variable rate N fertilisation map was proposed as the difference between the actual N content and the optimal N content. Read the full article
SPECIM AISA SERIES HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING CAMERAS
Maps obtained over the maize experimental field. (a) NNI (Nitrogen Nutrition Index) map obtained from remotely sensed data. Classes were defined around the optimal NNI value (NNI = 1). (b) Variable rate N fertilisation map (kg N ha−1) on the basis of the Nstatus value in each pixel. The suggested rate is shown only for pixels belonging to N deficient areas (i.e., NNI ≤ 0.9).
“We think that the proposed operational methodology is promising for precision farming since it represents an innovative attempt to derive a variable rate N fertilisation map based on the actual crop N status from an aerial hyperspectral image.”
Learn more about Specim AISA Range
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ANIMAL HUSBANDRY and Thermal Imaging
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When it comes to animal husbandry, the focus lies on both animal welfare and environmental protection. When used in animal husbandry, thermal imaging allows conclusions to be drawn about animal health, among other things. Infrared cameras are also used in livestock farming. Industrial animal breeding uses this measurement method, for example, to detect diseases at an early stage or to obtain general information about the animals' health condition. Infrared cameras allow the very precise measurement of the body temperature of animals. Especially in the field of animal breeding, monitoring the state of health is important. The smallest changes in body temperature can be an indication of developing diseases and enable immediate intervention.
The "blue" leg shows poor circulation and indicates a disease.
ANIMAL WELFARE: THERMAL IMAGING AS PROTECTION AGAINST ACCIDENTS WITH AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY Every year, many wild animals fall victim to agricultural and harvesting machinery. Many farmers already use infrared cameras in combination with drones to protect the animals on the one hand and to prevent damage to the machines or even contamination of the crop on the other. With the help of the large detector formats of InfraTec's thermal imaging systems as well as the thermal sensitivity of up to 20 mK, wildlife accidents can be reliably avoided. Infrared cameras from InfraTec detect the animals on the ground and transmit the images in real time to the output device. Hence, appropriate relocation measures can be initiated immediately.
Learn more about InfraTec range
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Vertical FARMING CASE STUDY 100x higher yield in crops with 98% less soil and 95% less water usage? NOT SCIENCE FICTION YET ENABLED BY SCIENCE...
Agricola Moderna is an Italian Vertical Farming company selling their brands of leafy greens and salads to the Italian supermarket’s main actor and in a platform specialised in sustainable and local food. They specialise in all the aspects that concern Vertical Farming: plant science, data science, climate engineering, and industrial logistics.
Agricola Moderna’s platform uses several types of sensors: RGB-D cameras for canopy 3D reconstruction and several environmental sensors that measure temperature, light Intensity, and C02 levels. They send all this information to a centralised database where it’s put into relation and given context. Agricola Moderna is also using hyperspectral imaging to allow extracting information that would be otherwise lost:
the presence of macro elements such as Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium, which are very important to understand the plants’ health and are visible after some manipulation of the data, or for example the level of flavonoids in the anthocyanin’s family. These would not be visible with simple RGB cameras, and the alternative solution is a slow and expensive chemical analysis of the crops.
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Agricola Moderna chose Specim as their hyperspectral camera supplier after several months of market research, discussions, and thought. They learned about Specim from their collaboration with Università di Milano, where they have their phenotyping platform. After several comparisons, they thought the Specim FX10 was the best device for them, and the price was competitive. iMAGE S S.p.A., the Specim distributor in Italy, had a notable role in this choice. Agricola Moderna was assisted by iMAGE S in every step of the process, before and after the purchase, and they are still in constant contact to optimise the use of the camera. Setting everything up and learning how to acquire and analyse the images correctly has taken a couple of months. An essential element is a light environment, and finding the correct one may imply several trial and error iterations. After four months from when they started using the FX10e, Agricola Moderna is developing the tools they need. Although some results are promising, it’s still early to quantify the level of success. They have indeed very clearly seen how the spectrum of a healthy plant and sick one differs and has learned to detect it.
Specim FX10 featured in the case study. Learn more here
LET’S HAVE A CHAT Discuss your application and the Specim FX10 with our Technical Sales Manager, Dr. Luke Nicholls Call (01372) 378822 Email luke@qd-uki.co.uk
For some species, they managed to quantify their colour’s brightness, which is very important for the products they sell. Scanning full trays of crops easily create several giga-bytes of hyperspectral data. One also needs to understand the nature of this data and how to extract information from it. For this reason, Agricola Moderna
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is developing all the algorithms to manipulate and analyse the data in-house. Thanks to their Data Scientists and external collaborations with the Computer Science department in La Sapienza in Rome and the Biology department of Università di Milano, Agricola Moderna are exploring a number of solutions that make use of the latest advancements in Deep Learning and other data science techniques and how to adapt them to vertical farming applications. Duccio Piovani, Head of Data Science and AI at Agricola Moderna, is satisfied with the Specim FX10e they have bought and the assistance they have received from iMAGE S.
“We believe we have only started scratching the surface of what is an extremely promising field. A field at the cross-road of many different disciplines such as biology, hyperspectral imaging, computer vision, and artificial intelligence that is already playing a central role in the way we grow crops and who’s influence on vertical farming and Agriculture, in general, is destined to grow. At Agricola Moderna, we are making sure to be at the forefront of this collective effort with the intention to exploit all the advantages it will bring” DUCCIO PIOVANI, HEAD OF DATA SCIENCE AND AI AT AGRICOLA MODERNA Duccio Piovani PhD – Head of Data Science and AI Trained in Theoretical Physics and Complex Systems, Duccio holds a master’s degree from La Sapienza in Rome and a Ph.D. from the complexity group at Imperial College London. He then started working in Data Science both in academia and with several startups in London and Paris. Today he is responsible for all that concern data and algorithms at Agricola Moderna.
Learn more about the Specim FX Series of cameras
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MULTIPLE AGRICULTURAL APPLICATIONS… from the air
SPECIM AFX SERIES FOR AGRICULTURE Specim’s AFX Series is a compact and complete solution for lightweight hyperspectral imaging, that can be mounted for example on a drone. Spectral imaging allows identifying one material from another simply by measuring the reflectance of light – without needing to take a sample. By
“This is not the first time our cameras have gone airborne, our AISA product family has been around for a long time, but now our customers are looking also for smaller, more lightweight solutions that can be mounted on most drones.” Jukka Okkonen, Product Owner of Specim AFX.
mounting a spectral camera on a drone, it can be used for example in looking for contamination and determining the water quality, estimating the fertilising need in agriculture, identifying vegetation species, or studying wildlife population from the air. AFX10 is based on the FX product family, which is a high-quality hyperspectral camera series designed specifically for industrial use. This new product brings the benefits of the FX series to the airborne use.
“One clear benefit of our solution is the efficient use of light. That combined with our advanced image enhancement technology means, that we can offer the highest data quality available.”
SPECIM AFX10
SPECIM AFX17
VNIR (400 – 1000 nm)
NIR (900 – 1700 nm)
Specim AFX10 is a VNIR hyperspectral imaging
Specim AFX17 is a NIR hyperspectral imaging
solution with an HSI camera, a small and powerful
solution with an HSI camera, a small and powerful
computer and a high-end GNSS/IMU unit in one
computer and a high-end GNSS/IMU unit in one
compact enclosure that can be installed on multiple
compact enclosure that can be installed on
drone types
multiple drone types.
SPECIM AFX10 IS BEST SUITED FOR:
SPECIM AFX17 IS BEST SUITED FOR:
Vegetation classification and species identification Water quality analysis Wetlands monitoring Wildlife population study
Moisture, nutrition and fertiliser analysis from the soil Advanced vegetation species identification Plant health and stress studies Forest fires detection
Learn more about the Specim AFX Series of cameras
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“With the introduction of AFX17, we expand our dronecompatible product range to cover more sophisticated applications. This means, for example, soil analysis detecting moisture, nutrition, and fertilisers, vegetation studies including advanced species identification, and plant health and stress level detection, and also forest fires detection. I am very excited about this new addition and eager to see how the remote sensing community accepts these newcomers.” Jukka Okkonen, Product Owner of Specim AFX.
TALK TO US To discuss your agricultural application or area of research, please get in touch with our Technical Sales Engineer, Luke Nicholls here. Call (01372) 378822 Email luke@qd-uki.co.uk
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CASE STUDY: THE SEEDS OF THE FUTURE S SAAT SE & Co. KGaA, Einbeck www.kws.com Project staff: Dr. Christoph Bauer Thermographic System: VarioCAM® HD head 900
As part of its plant research, the company uses the VarioCAM® HD head 900 infrared camera from InfraTec to analyse the behaviour of plants during drought stress and pest infestation.
Environmental conditions today often tend towards extremes. Many areas are very humid and wet, while others are predominantly dry. Particularly in the second case, cultivating raw materials such as grain, beet or maize is a challenge. A challenge that KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA is facing. As part of its plant research, the company uses the VarioCAM® HD head 900 infrared camera from InfraTec to analyse the behaviour of plants during drought stress and pest infestation.
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Research into the behaviour of plants under drought stress plays a crucial role for future agriculture. This is because the research results provide insights into how adaptable and robust a plant variety is and how it reacts to different temperatures. This, in turn, enables decisions to be made about which varieties will be bred further. In the
past,
specific
statements
about
plant
behaviour under drought stress were limited. But with the help of thermography, scientists now have access to valid measurements that allow them
to
take
new
selection
options
into
consideration and develop more robust and resistant plant varieties. KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA's work includes multiplying and distributing sugarbeet and corn seed. The company finances basic research and the breeding of the KWS Group's range of varieties and provides its subsidiaries with new sorts for multiplication and distribution every year.
But how does an infrared camera help to detect drought stress or pest infestation of a plant? The answer is quite simple: by measuring the leaf temperature. Complementary to visual cameras, the infrared camera provides exact surface temperatures and their distribution on the leaf. This enables conclusions to be drawn about leaf health and robustness as well as plant growth. For research on pest infestation, such as in the Dataplant project, a special laser is used that emits
T H E R M O G R A P H Y F O R B E T T E R PLANT GROWTH AND AGAINST P E S T I N F E S T A T I O N
But how does an infrared camera help to detect drought stress or pest infestation of a plant? The answer is quite simple: by measuring the leaf temperature. Complementary to visual cameras, the infrared camera provides exact surface temperatures and their distribution on the leaf. This enables conclusions to be drawn about leaf health and robustness as well as plant growth.
a beam of infrared light and illuminates the leaf green. At a certain wavelength in the infrared range, infested or diseased leaf areas are heated differently than healthy ones.
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The VarioCAM® HD head infrared camera from InfraTec is used for the measurement. Its compactness and handy size allow easy integration into mobile measurement set-ups. There the camera measures how the individual leaf areas heat up and transfers the temperature values directly to the control PC. The data can be stored and evaluated on this PC with an associated software.
The camera technology itself withstands some challenges and defies environmental conditions such as temperature fluctuations, dust and wind. Since the measurements take place outdoors, the sunlight respectively daylight varies, which has to be taken into account in thermal imaging. The ex works degree of protection IP67 as well as connectors that maintain the degree of protection ensure corresponding operational safety. Due to the radiometric precision calibration of the thermographic system and the robust camera housing with internal reference sensors, the measurements of the VarioCAM® HD head 900 are always stable and reliable. To physically increase the native detector resolution from (1,024 × 768) IR pixels to (2,048 × 1,536) IR pixels, the camera is also equipped with internal optomechanical MicroScan technology. Another advantage is the flexible connection of the camera to KWS' own systems via a fast Gigabit Ethernet interface. The associated software development kit (SDK) enables trouble-free integration into existing systems. InfraTec's infrared cameras are in use at various KWS locations worldwide.
AS A RESULT OF THESE RESEARCH PROJECTS, AGRICULTURE HAS MORE ROBUST AND RESISTANT SEEDS, WHICH HELPS AGRICULTURE TO BETTER COPE WITH EXTREME ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN THE FUTURE.
Want to learn more about InfraTec? Technical Sales Manager Dr. Luke Nicholls Call (01372) 378822 Email luke@qd-uki.co.uk
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