Abstract
As global food demand grows, sustainable agricultural strategies are crucial. Current technologies optimise nitrogen (N) fertiliser use in stressed fields but often mismanage amounts, causing nitrogen dispersion and ecological losses. The EU-funded RE-IMAGINE-CROPS project will enhance crop management by using in-field measurements of biophysical processes at tissue and cellular levels.
The project introduces a portable multimodal technology combining positron emission tomography (PET) to measure metabolic processes at micrometre-scale precision and multiphoton endoscopy (ME) for real-time cellular analysis. This technology will measure crop signalling pathways triggered by N fertilisers shortly after application, providing insights into interactions through real-time PET reconstruction and spatial resolutions.
Our main goal:
Develop and implement a mobile multimodal (PET-ME) imaging system to help address fertiliser overuse through Precision Agronomy
The mobile PET-ME is capable of:
- Metabolic Imaging: Utilising PET to measure metabolic processes in crops at a scale of hundreds of micrometres.
- Cellular Visualization: Employing ME to observe functional mechanisms at the cellular level.
- Real-Time Data Acquisition: Achieving spatial resolutions of 0.6 mm and 1 µm, with real-time functionality at rates of 2 Hz and 10 Hz, respectively.
- Fertiliser Optimisation: Tailoring N-fertiliser application by monitoring crop signal pathways activated shortly after fertiliser application.
This approach is expected to reduce ecological and economic losses associated with improper fertiliser use and promote sustainable agricultural practices.