Nurseries of the Future

Remember those corny sci-fi movies from the ‘50s and ‘60s with the flying cars? So we haven’t captured that technology yet, but think of the strides we’ve made in just a few short years.

My children have no concept of developing film. They see a photo seconds after it’s shot. They have no idea what a VCR is for. Their movies are on thin, shiny discs or downloaded as an electronic file. They’ve never accidentally scratched a needle across a record or hurdled a big pile of laundry to get their favorite song from the radio onto a cassette.

Enough nostalgia. But it probably won’t be long before you’re telling a college student about “how we used to have a diesel powered tractor” or “we had to look through a hand lens to diagnose plant diseases.”

Plants that text
OK, I haven’t even completely embraced the whole texting phenomenon. I don’t have speedy thumbs. Are you in the same boat? Well your plants could be years ahead of you when it comes to the short, acronymical messages. Accent Engineering in Lubbock, Texas last year revealed its SmartCrop automated drought monitoring system. The system is based on a patent held by the Agricultural Research Service.   An automated infrared sensor system tells growers when their plants are thirsty or hotter than their ideal growing temperature and sends a text message. The system is being marketed to row crop producers, but ARS scientists said the technology could be used in the nursery setting.

Earlier this year, Israeli scientists introduced a device that also sends a text or e-mail when a plant needs water. Researcher Eran Raveh said California citrus growers have expressed interest. It will likely take another three or four years before growers can buy it. Raveh estimates his device will save growers up to 40 percent in water use.

For more: Accent Engineering, www.accentengr.com.

Color infrared reveals disease
University researchers trialed color infrared (CIR) photography to better detect diseases in greenhouse crops. Kenneth R. Summy of the University of Texas-Pan American and Christopher R. Little of Kansas State University tested CIR on trifoliate orange, Valencia orange, sour orange, grapefruit, bo tree and muskmelon. The plants were infected with sooty mold, insects and pathogens. Leaves exhibiting a range of symptoms were chosen to compare with healthy leaves and photographed using CIR.
 
CIR images are divided into wavebands. Ratios are created comparing the near infrared (NIR) wavebands to red wavebands. High NIR and low red values are typical of healthy vegetation because light is being reflected in the proper proportion. Ratios of colors accentuate even slight differences in light reflection, which can indicate disease.
 
Certain diseases, such as powdery mildew, give the leaf surface a powdery finish. Sooty mold appears on the leaf as tan, brown or black spots. CIR allows for early detection of these types of diseases.
 
The researchers believe this image analysis technology has potential for large-scale use in horticulture. But the application must be cost-effective enough to buy CIR cameras and equipment, and user friendly so that on-site software processing of data can be completed easily.

For more: Kenneth Summy, kr@panam.edu.

Robots on the payroll
Students at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory are experimenting with swarm robots for ag use. In the MIT lab, each robot is outfitted with a robotic arm and a watering pump. Tomato plants are equipped with soil sensors, networking and computation, which allow them to communicate with the robots. In turn, robots cater to the plants’ needs, including picking a specific tomato and pollinating the plants.
 
This system is called precision agriculture. Water, nutrients and care will be dispensed on an as-needed basis.

For more: www.csail.mit.edu.

Hydrogen tractors
New Holland’s experimental hydrogen-powered NH2 tractor replaces the traditional combustion engine with hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity. Compressed hydrogen drawn from a tank on the tractor reacts in the fuel cell with oxygen, drawn from the air, to produce water and electrons. The electrons are harnessed in the form of an electric current, which drives electric motors to power the tractor’s drivetrain and auxiliary systems.
 
The NH2 tractor is a 106-horsepower working prototype able to perform all the tasks of a diesel-powered T6000 tractor. The fuel cell generates less heat than an internal combustion engine and does not produce nitrogen oxides, soot particles or carbon dioxide. Energy-dense compressed hydrogen can be stored conveniently in a tank, allowing the energy to be stored for long time.

For more: www.newholland.com.