Plant-O-Meter sensor can better determine crop condition
The Plant-O-Meter sensor from the Serbian company Bitgear can distinguish between thirty different crop indices and thus determine the condition of the crop. The device was featured at the recent Future Farming & Food Event.
The Plant-O-Meter crop sensor was showcased during the FF & FE event. It is a new type of crop sensor from Bitgear Wireless Design, an IT company based in Serbia, which entered into a collaboration with the BioSense Institute, also from Serbia, which holds a patent on the sensor.M
Multispectral sensor
The multispectral sensor uses six optical channels to determine optical vegetation indices, explained Dejan Dramicanin, the CEO of Bitgear. “With our sensor, you essentially determine the condition of the crop. Is the crop stressed by lack of moisture or diseases? Is there a deficiency in certain nutrients? We express this in up to thirty indices, with NDVI being the most well-known. Based on these indices, you can, for example, adjust your fertilization and thus save up to 25 percent on fertilizer.” There is a handheld version (black) that needs to be held one meter above the crop and an orange version for mounting on feed and machinery. The generated field maps can be viewed and analyzed in the associated app.
Affordable alternative
According to Bitgear, the Plant-O-Meter should be an affordable alternative to existing crop sensors. The handheld version without GPS costs €149, and the version with GPS costs €999. A kit to be mounted on, for example, field sprayers, with three to four sensors, will cost between €4,000 and €5,000.
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