TY - JOUR
T1 - Real-Time Assessment of Mandarin Crop Water Stress Index
AU - Appiah, Sadick Amoakohene
AU - Li, Jiuhao
AU - Lan, Yubin
AU - Darko, Ransford Opoku
AU - Alordzinu, Kelvin Edom
AU - Al Aasmi, Alaa
AU - Asenso, Evans
AU - Issaka, Fuseini
AU - Afful, Ebenezer Acheampong
AU - Wang, Hao
AU - Qiao, Songyang
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/6/1
Y1 - 2022/6/1
N2 - The use of plant-based indicators and other conventional means to detect the level of water stress in crops may be challenging, due to their difficulties in automation, their arduousness, and their time-consuming nature. Non-contact and non-destructive sensing methods can be used to detect the level of water stress in plants continuously and to provide automatic sensing and controls. This research aimed at determining the viability, efficiency, and swiftness in employing the commercial Workswell WIRIS Agro R infrared camera (WWARIC) in monitoring water stress and scheduling appropriate irrigation regimes in mandarin plants. The experiment used a four-by-three randomized complete block design with 80–100% FC water treatment as full field capacity and three deficit irrigation treatments at 70–75% FC, 60–65% FC, and 50–55% FC. Air temperature, canopy temperature, and vapor pressure deficits were measured and employed to deduce the empirical crop water stress index, using the Idso approach (CWSI(Idso)) as well as baseline equations to calculate non-water stress and water stressed conditions. The relative leaf water content (RLWC) of mandarin plants was also determined for the growing season. From the experiment, CWSI(Idso) and CWSI were estimated using the Workswell Wiris Agro R infrared camera (CWSIW) and showed a high correlation (R2 = 0.75 at p < 0.05) in assessing the extent of water stress in mandarin plants. The results also showed that at an altitude of 12 m above the mandarin canopy, the WWARIC was able to identify water stress using three modes (empirical, differential, and theoretical). The WWARIC’s color map feature, presented in real time, makes the camera a suitable device, as there is no need for complex computations or expert advice before determining the extent of the stress the crops are subjected to. The results prove that this novel use of the WWARIC demonstrated sufficient precision, swiftness, and intelligibility in the real-time detection of the mandarin water stress index and, accordingly, assisted in scheduling irrigation.
AB - The use of plant-based indicators and other conventional means to detect the level of water stress in crops may be challenging, due to their difficulties in automation, their arduousness, and their time-consuming nature. Non-contact and non-destructive sensing methods can be used to detect the level of water stress in plants continuously and to provide automatic sensing and controls. This research aimed at determining the viability, efficiency, and swiftness in employing the commercial Workswell WIRIS Agro R infrared camera (WWARIC) in monitoring water stress and scheduling appropriate irrigation regimes in mandarin plants. The experiment used a four-by-three randomized complete block design with 80–100% FC water treatment as full field capacity and three deficit irrigation treatments at 70–75% FC, 60–65% FC, and 50–55% FC. Air temperature, canopy temperature, and vapor pressure deficits were measured and employed to deduce the empirical crop water stress index, using the Idso approach (CWSI(Idso)) as well as baseline equations to calculate non-water stress and water stressed conditions. The relative leaf water content (RLWC) of mandarin plants was also determined for the growing season. From the experiment, CWSI(Idso) and CWSI were estimated using the Workswell Wiris Agro R infrared camera (CWSIW) and showed a high correlation (R2 = 0.75 at p < 0.05) in assessing the extent of water stress in mandarin plants. The results also showed that at an altitude of 12 m above the mandarin canopy, the WWARIC was able to identify water stress using three modes (empirical, differential, and theoretical). The WWARIC’s color map feature, presented in real time, makes the camera a suitable device, as there is no need for complex computations or expert advice before determining the extent of the stress the crops are subjected to. The results prove that this novel use of the WWARIC demonstrated sufficient precision, swiftness, and intelligibility in the real-time detection of the mandarin water stress index and, accordingly, assisted in scheduling irrigation.
KW - Workswell Wiris Agro R infrared camera
KW - crop water stress indicator
KW - infrared thermometry
KW - plant-based indicators
KW - real time
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85130812637&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/s22114018
DO - 10.3390/s22114018
M3 - Article
C2 - 35684639
AN - SCOPUS:85130812637
SN - 1424-8220
VL - 22
JO - Sensors (Switzerland)
JF - Sensors (Switzerland)
IS - 11
M1 - 4018
ER -