New device can detect crop pathogens by smell

Dubbed an E-Nose, the equipment has been developed by engineers and scientists to detect crop pathogens by smell weeks before any infection becomes outwardly apparent or evident on any visual basis.

“It’s an amazing tool for early detection,” commented Kit Franklin, a lecturer of agricultural engineering at Harper Adams University.

Franklin revealed the technological advance during a discussion on the latest sensors, robotics and automation at the SRUC and AHDB’s joint Agronomy 2017 (Scotland) forum, staged at Perth Racecourse this week.

He said E-Noses will potentially be able to give arable farmers as much as a two-week head start when it comes to controlling a wide variety of plant diseases – from fungi to oomycetes, bacteria, viruses and nematodes.

Read more at The Courier UK.

Photo: Penn State Department of Plant Pathology & Environmental Microbiology Archives, Penn State University, Bugwood.org