Emerging Technologies for Monitoring Plant Health in Vivo

In the coming decades, increasing agricultural productivity is all-important. As the global population is growing rapidly and putting increased demand on food supply, poor soil quality, drought, flooding, increasing temperatures, and novel plant diseases are negatively impacting yields worldwide. One method to increase yields is plant health monitoring and rapid detection of disease, nutrient deficiencies, or drought. Monitoring plant health will allow for precise application of agrichemicals, fertilizers, and water in order to maximize yields. In vivo plant sensors are an emerging technology with the potential to increase agricultural productivity. In this mini-review, we discuss three major approaches of in vivo sensors for plant health monitoring, including genetic engineering, imaging and spectroscopy, and electrical.

Automated summary

In the coming decades, increasing agricultural productivity is crucial due to the rapidly growing global population and the increased demand for food supply. One method to achieve this is through monitoring and rapidly detecting plant diseases, nutrient deficiencies, and drought to maximize yields by precise application of agrichemicals, fertilizers, and water. In vivo plant sensors have the potential to increase agricultural productivity through genetic engineering, imaging and spectroscopy, and electrical approaches.