Your Fingers: The Ultimate Crop Sensor?

 

As an AgriTech advocate, I might surprise you by suggesting you could reduce your reliance on technology, particularly sensors, in certain aspects of farming. 

While I firmly believe in the power of reliable sensors for research and many applications, I'm also seeing a shift in the agricultural landscape, driven by AI and other factors, that makes me reconsider their universal recommendation for growers. 

I'll delve into the broader concerns about technology costs and corporate influence in future posts, but for today, let's focus on this question:

Can you effectively manage crops based on plant cues 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 a sensor?

The answer is yes, in some cases.

Many plant-based water stress detection methods, including those using sophisticated sensors like infrared thermal cameras, dendrometers, or sap flow meters, ultimately rely on similar principles. 

If a method works for you, by all means, continue using it. But if you're exploring options, I particularly recommend considering thermal sensing principles.

The beauty of thermal sensing, especially for growers, is that with a bit of practice, you can often apply its principles 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 expensive equipment.

In my previous article, "Decoding VPD and CWSI for Optimized Crop Water Management", I explained how thermal sensing is based on the principle that well-hydrated plants transpire, which cools their leaves and canopy below the surrounding air temperature.

This temperature difference is often noticeable. You can actually feel it. Cool leaves generally indicate well-watered plants, while warm leaves suggest stress. Experienced growers have long used this technique.

 

 

Think of it this way: your fingers become your temperature sensor, and your body acts as a weather station. You can gauge wind with your skin, get a sense of humidity and air temperature (and thus VPD) through your own perception, and obviously, you can see sunlight levels.

So, the core idea is: use your senses! Correlate what you feel and observe with your plants' needs.

Now, you might say, "I can already tell when my plants are stressed – wilting leaves are a clear sign!" While wilting is a sign, it's a late sign. 

By the time you see visible wilting, you've likely already lost some yield. Using your fingers to directly assess leaf temperature allows you to detect stress earlier, before it becomes visually obvious.

The key is regular monitoring, at consistent times of day, and meticulous record-keeping. You could even use a scale similar to the Scoville scale for peppers to track the "hotness" of the leaves! (Seriously!)

Happy Farming!