Plant-based sensors for irrigation

management
Plant-based sensors can provide Automated and continuously recording devices are
favoured in irrigation scheduling.
complementary information to soil and Each type of sensor can measure different indicators
weather-based approaches to irrigation of water use and stress. Two sensors detailed here are
sap flow sensors and dendrometers.
management.

SAP FLOW SENSORS

INTRODUCTION
Sap flow is the movement of fluid (water and nutrients)
Plant-water status is a key determinant of growth, through a plant. It can be used as an indicator of
development and productivity. Insufficient water transpiration. Increased sap flow is a signal of a
availability within the plant inhibits important metabolic healthy plant which is actively transpiring. Sap flow will
processes including photosynthesis. Plant-water deficit reduce as a plant goes from an irrigation cycle to a
occurs when there is not enough water available to stress cycle.
meet demand.
The system of water movement in plants is driven by Measuring sap flow
transpiration and available water in the rootzone. Sap flow sensors measure the movement of fluid in the
Water is released through small openings on the plant xylem. Sap flow sensors are installed by inserting
leaf (stomata). Gases and water vapour pass through probes into the plant’s sapwood.
stomata and the process is controlled by stomatal
aperture. Closing stomata reduces the amount of water Sensors use a heater probe to measure the velocity of
released through transpiration to help maintain fluid moving through the stem.
hydration in the plant.
The plant-water status is affected by the interaction of
atmospheric, plant, and soil factors. Plant type, age,
and growth phase, as well as solar radiation,
temperature, wind and humidity all affect water use.
Different conditions trigger changes in the stomata,
causing transpiration to increase or decrease.
To have adequate plant water status, roots must be
able to take up enough moisture from the soil to satisfy
the atmospheric demand (i.e. transpiration). If water
availability is too low, or plants physically are unable to
meet the demand, stomata will close, and metabolic
processes slow down or stop. This can result in a
decline in production.

PRINCIPLES OF PLANT-BASED SENSORS Figure 1. Sap flow sensor probe (right) and data logger on a
pear tree. (Photo: Edaphic Scientific)
Plant water use is dynamic and changes throughout
Conversion factors are then used to translate readings
the day, as does water stress. Plant-based sensors
to sap flow values which are measured in liters per
work on the concept of using plants as “biosensors”,
hour.
where soil-water, atmospheric conditions and plant
response are integrated.
Interpreting sap flow
Plant-water status can be measured by either contact Sap flow can be continuously logged to determine the
or non-contact sensors. Contact sensors provide amount of water used (transpired) by the plant each
useful measurements of daily patterns of water use, day.
e.g. sap flow sensors. Non-contact sensors can
provide spatial assessments of water use, e.g. canopy Sap flow is highest during the day when plants are
temperature sensors. actively transpiring, and low during the night when little
or no transpiration occurs.
There are many sensing methods and plant variables
available for measuring water status and stress.
Sap flow changes in response to the climatic DENDROMETERS
conditions as it is directly related to transpiration. On a
cloudy day, transpiration rates will be lower and sap Daily patterns in water use cause plants to shrink and
flow declines. swell throughout a 24-hour period. As plants transpire
Similarly, wet canopies can have reduced (up to half during the day, water is mobilised from storages in
the normal) transpiration rates, causing lower sap flow. plant tissue and transported to the leaves through the
sapwood. As this occurs, the trunk or stem shrinks.
Peak sap flow will decline is a plant enters water
When transpiration reduces or ceases overnight, water
stress. This can help indicate when an irrigation event continues to enter the plant through the root system
is needed (Figure 2). (provided there is enough water available) and
redistributes though the plant causing the tissue to
swell.

Figure 2. Daily sap flow patterns for two trees. The red line
shows a tree entering water stress on day 3. (Image:
Edaphic Scientific)
Figure 3. Wireless dendrometer on mature pecan tree.
Sap flow readings can also be compared to daily (Photo: Paul Grobler, Phytech)
evapotranspiration data or maximum air temperature to
help identify when an irrigation event is needed. High Measuring diameter
evapotranspiration readings should correspond to high
sap flow, if water is not limiting. Dendrometers measure microvariations in stem
diameter caused by cycles of shrinking and swelling,
Accessibility which indicate changes in plant water content.
Raw data from sap flow sensors can be difficult to Dendrometers are band or point measuring devices.
interpret without some training. Bands are wrapped around the circumference of the
tree which detect expansion and contraction via a
Sap flow measurements are calculated in litres per position sensor.
hour or per day. These readings can be converted to a
figure in mm/day. Point devices measure a single point on the surface. A
rod is drilled into the heartwood for stability and a
Accuracy second rod is placed against the bark to measure
changes in diameter (Figure 3).
Sap flow sensors are invasive and cause damage to
the tree. For most sensors, correction factors must be Throughout a 24-hour cycle, stem diameter variations
applied to account for the effects of probe are measured at regular intervals to identify maximum
misalignment, wounding and thermal diffusivity, and minimum values. This method can also be applied
otherwise there can be significant errors in the to fruit.
measured sap flow. These are becoming less of an
issue with more modern sensors. Interpreting dendrometer data
Sensors must be protected from direct sunlight and Maximum daily shrinkage (MDS) and stem growth rate
external heat to avoid errors—this can be managed by (SGR) are the most common measures used when
wrapping the sensors in foil. interpreting dendrometer data.
MDS measures how much the stem contracts and Rain can distort dendrometer data in some crop
expands within a 24-hour cycle. A plant that is not varieties when bark swells, giving an inaccurate
stressed will have a lower MDS than a plant that is representation of water use until the bark dries.
stressed.
There are many factors which affect dendrometer
MDS graphs also indicate the rate at which moisture is measurements (MDS or SGR) including crop load,
being lost (transpiration) as well as the rate of recovery phenological stage, age and environmental conditions.
(from water available in the root zone). There is also high variability in stress threshold
amongst crop types and varieties. These factors
SGR measures how much the stem grows through a should be considered when interpreting data and are
cycle of contraction and expansion (24 hours). During best evaluated by product or service suppliers with
periods of active growth, and when there is enough appropriate expertise.
water available to meet demand, SGR will be positive.
A combination of SGR and MDS can be used to
determine when plants are experiencing water stress.
Figure 4 shows the continuous log of stem diameter
variation over 14 days.

Accessibility
Raw dendrometer data is not easy to interpret and
requires calibration to determine a threshold for stress
which indicates when irrigation is required.

Some providers have generated algorithms with

integrated systems to process dendrometer data.
These systems signal when plants are becoming
stressed, significantly reducing the need for grower
interpretation.

Accuracy
Correct installation is essential to ensure readings are
as accurate as possible.

Figure 4. Dendrometer data presented in Phytech user interface (Image: Paul Grobler, Phytech)
OTHER PLANT-BASED MEASURERS

There are many options for measuring water status in

plants to determine stress. Some alternatives are
summarised in the table below.
Sensor Measures Comments
Canopy Canopy temperature • These non-contact sensors can provide readings at the plant
Temperature level as fixed sensors, or from above the canopy using airborne
Sensors imagery to measure spatial variation.
• Fixed sensors must be adjusted so the required distance
between the sensor and a growing canopy is maintained.
• Requires plant variety specific physiological data to determine
stress thresholds.
• More research needed to understand temperature thresholds of
different growth phases.
• Potential for canopy temperature technology to model and
predict future stress events.
Pressure Bomb Stem water potential • Good indicator of plant stress and used to complement soil
moisture monitoring at critical growth stages of certain crops.
• Requires visual confirmation of the appearance of water on the
cut stem surface which can be subjective.
• Requires destructive sampling so cannot be automated.
• Labour intensive requiring measurement at specific time of day
(generally pre-dawn or midday).
Psychrometer Stem water potential • Continuously logs stem water potential.
• Has potential to reduce manual labour requirement of pressure
bomb.
• Installation can be difficult and causes damage to the stem.
• Can be prone to gumming from sap which disrupts sensor
measurements.
Porometer Stomatal • Accurate measure of stress.
conductance • Labour intensive and must be taken at the same time every
day.
• No consensus for timing of measurement (pre-dawn or midday)
to best indicate stress.
• Needs to be scaled up to the size of the property.
• Does not work if the surface of leaves is wet.

There are a range of plant-based sensors available.

CONCLUSIONS Not all are practical to use for irrigation scheduling.
Those that are more practical are generally
Plant-based sensors provide a unique opportunity for continuously logged and provide data in a format that
irrigators to make decisions based on the needs of can be used by irrigators to make informed decisions
their crop. Continually logged sensor data can show on irrigation management.
diurnal patterns in water use and the onset of stress in
order to make better decisions about when irrigation is Plant-based sensors can provide an integrated
needed. measure of a plant’s response to soil moisture
availability and evaporative demand. These
Because these methods measure plant stress, they measurements can be used in isolation or complement
can also be helpful in identifying pests and diseases other irrigation scheduling techniques such as soil
which cause stress, affecting transpiration and water- moisture-monitoring, to give a more detailed picture of
use. irrigation demand.
 Forster, M. and Englefield, A. (2018). Grapevine sap
flow monitoring. Factsheet. Department of Primary
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FURTHER INFORMATION
Department of Primary Industries. Riverina vineyard
dendrometer and sap flow demonstration. For further information please contact Natalie Mason at
Agriculture Victoria on (03) 50514500
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Fernández, J. E. (2014) Plant-based sensing to
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irrigation scheduling of woody crops. Horticulturae. Paul Grobler, Phytech.
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