Early detection of plant diseases may be possible

Added on 20 April 2023

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Early detection of plant diseases may be possible

Researchers at North Carolina State University (NCSU) have developed an electronic patch that can be applied to the leaves of plants to monitor for different pathogens – such as viral and fungal infections – and stresses such as drought or salinity. During testing, the researchers found the plant patch was able to detect a viral infection in tomatoes more than a week before growers would be able to detect any visible symptoms of disease.

“This is important because the earlier growers can identify plant diseases or fungal infections, the better able they will be to limit the spread of the disease and preserve their crop,” says Qingshan Wei, corresponding author of a paper on the work and an Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NCSU. “In addition, the more quickly growers can identify abiotic stresses, such as irrigation water contaminated by saltwater intrusion, the better able they will be to address relevant challenges and improve crop yield.”

The researchers tested the new patches on tomato plants in greenhouses, and experimented with patches that incorporated different combinations of sensors. The tomato plants were infected with three different pathogens: tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV); early blight, which is a fungal infection; and late blight, which is a type of pathogen called an oomycete. The plants were also exposed to a variety of abiotic stresses, such as overwatering, drought conditions, lack of light, and high salt concentrations in the water.

The researchers took data from these experiments and plugged them into an artificial intelligence program to determine which combinations of sensors worked most effectively to identify both disease and abiotic stress.