Sensors 2016, 16(4), 452; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16040452
Non-Invasive Examination of Plant Surfaces by Opto-Electronic Means—Using Russet as a Prime Example
1
INRES-Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bonn, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
2
Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bonn, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Simon X. Yang
Received: 6 February 2016 / Revised: 18 March 2016 / Accepted: 21 March 2016 / Published: 29 March 2016
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors for Agriculture)
Abstract
(1) Background: Many disorders and diseases of agricultural produce change the physical features of surfaces of plant organs; in terms of russet, e.g., of apple or pear, affected fruit peel becomes rough and brown in color, which is associated with changes in light reflection; (2) Objective and Methods: The objective of the present project was an interdisciplinary approach between horticultural science and engineering to examine two new innovative technologies as to their suitability for the non-destructive determination of surfaces of plant organs, using russet as an example, and (a) an industrial luster sensor (type CZ-H72, Keyence, Japan) and (b) a new type of a three-dimensional (3D) color microscope (VHX 5000); (3) Results: In the case of russet, i.e., suberinization of the fruit peel, peel roughness increased by ca. 2.5-fold from ca. 20 µm to ca. 50 µm on affected fruit sections when viewed at 200× magnification. Russeted peel showed significantly reduced luster, with smaller variation than russet-devoid peel with larger variation; (4) Conclusion: These results indicate that both sensors are suitable for biological material and their use for non-contact, non-invasive detection of surface disorders on agricultural produce such as russet may be a very powerful tool for many applications in agriculture and beyond in the future. View Full-TextKeywords:
3D colour microscopy; glossiness; light reflection; luster sensor technology; russet; non-invasive technology; plant surface feature
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Klemm, M.; Röttger, O.; Damerow, L.; Blanke, M. Non-Invasive Examination of Plant Surfaces by Opto-Electronic Means—Using Russet as a Prime Example. Sensors 2016, 16, 452.
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