Precision farming in crop and livestock production

Title

Schnelle Detektion von pilzlichen Phytopathogenen auf Früchten mittels Biospeckle

Acronym

DAAD-PPP-Polen

Start

01.01.2020

End

31.12.2021

Coordinating Institute

Leibniz-Institut für Agrartechnik und Bioökonomie e.V. (ATB)

Coordinator

Partner

Allocated to research program

Summary

The term biospeckle refers to an optical phenomenon caused by the dynamic scattering of radiation in the visible and short-wave near infrared on microscopic and submicroscopic particles in living plant and animal tissues. These objects can be cell organelles or particles or molecules dissolved in the cytoplasm, whose movement is the main cause of the observable fluctuations of the biospecula. The processes of active intracellular transport, which are primarily responsible for these movements, are mainly based on the function of the actin-myosin system and can therefore be regarded as a representative indicator of the current physiological state of the cell(s) and can therefore be used for its evaluation. In this context, the analysis of biospeckle activity as a direct consequence of the metabolically dependent speed of intracellular movements can therefore be used to assess the current overall physiological state, the freshness of fruits. This is particularly relevant for the assessment of various disturbances in the metabolic activities of fresh products, such as those occurring in the case of tissue damage, e.g. pressure or bruising, or fungal infections. The most frequently occurring damage to fruit is actually caused by natural infections with various fungal or bacterial pathogens. Therefore, biospeckle image analysis can be used very well to detect and record the symptoms of a fungal infection before any visually obvious damage occurs. In this project this approach will be applied, optimized and its use evaluated under practical conditions. As a method, biospeckle image analysis depends directly on the activity of the metabolic processes taking place in the living organism. A disadvantage of this approach, however, is that it cannot selectively identify or differentiate these metabolic processes, but rather records an overall reaction. Biospecklebild analysis also does not make it possible to track changes in the concentrations of very specific chemical substances or ingredients of fruit and vegetables. For this reason, given the current state of system design and calibration of the method, it is extremely useful to use additional, complementary techniques in parallel to biospecimen analysis to circumvent or eliminate these limitations. Therefore, it is planned to use modern non-destructive optical methods such as chlorophyll fluorescence and hyperspectral image analysis for this project.

Funding

Funding agency

Grant agreement number

Funding framework

PPP Programme for Project-Related Personal Exchange (starting in 2020) with Poland