Open-source electronics for plant phenotyping and irrigation in controlled environment

Authors: Kim, James; Abdel-Haleem, Hussein; Luo, Zinan; Szczepanek, Aaron

Submitted to: Smart Agricultural Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/10/2022
Publication Date: 7/12/2022
Citation: Kim, J.Y., Abdel-Haleem, H.A., Luo, Z., Szczepanek, A.E. 2022. Open-source electronics for plant phenotyping and irrigation in controlled environment. Smart Agricultural Technology. 3. Article 100093. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atech.2022.100093.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atech.2022.100093

Interpretive Summary: Collecting phenotypic data under controlled or open environment can be expensive and laborious, and the integration of phenotyping with water management is challenging. We developed a new cost-effective portable HTP system that can enable seamless sensor fusion and collect phenotypic data as well as soil water data to determine how irrigation needs. We characterized phenotypic differences of two camelina varieties with plant temperature and height. The results indicated that camelina variety 1 (CAM212) showed a superior phenotypic traits and resistance to heat and drought stresses with cooler canopy temperature and taller canopy height. This system can be easily adopted by end users for other sensing and control applications such as in greenhouses, vertical farms, or outdoor fields with an affordable cost and flexibility of scaleup.

Technical Abstract: Plant breeding facilitates the discovery of new cultivars and novel genotypic traits for sustainable agriculture. Prediction of interacting effects of genetics (G), production environment (E), and crop management (M), or G×E×M, promises one of the most promising tools for crop modeling of specific features related to crop productivity. Two varieties of camelina (CAM212 and Giessen#4) were examined to help identify key alleles and associated molecular markers conditioning abiotic stress (heat and drought) tolerance and agronomic traits. An experiment was conducted in two growth chambers under different temperatures (35°C and 25°C) with differing amounts of water (40% and 90% water holding capacity). To implement automated irrigation and phenotyping, a cost-effective high throughput phenotyping (HTP) system was developed using a single-chip Arduino microcontroller and a compact Raspberry Pi (RPi) computer and was extended to include soil water monitoring and water pump control for automated irrigation. The HTP system consists of an Arduino Uno board, RPi 3B+, a camera, mini LiDAR sensors, infrared thermometers, soil moisture sensors, water pumps, relays, a temperature\humidity sensor, a multiplexer, and an LCD screen. The system weighed 1.7 kg, and the total cost was less than USD 900. The HTP system monitored 24 plants every four seconds for canopy temperature, plant height, and soil moisture, captured an image every 10 minutes, and controlled the water pumps every 6 hours based on soil water levels measured by the soil moisture sensors and displayed the data on the LCD screen. Data were wirelessly monitored by a smartphone and transferred to a computer for further statistical analyses. The results indicated that camelina variety 1 (CAM212) showed a superior phenotypic responses and resistance to heat and drought stresses with cooler canopy temperature and taller plant height. The results showed that the system was capable of controlling water management and collecting phenotypic data. This system can be scaled up for greenhouse and field irrigation and phenotyping applications.