Comparison of two thermo cameras of different price segments in terms of their suitability for monitoring water stress responses
- Publication Type
- Contribution to conference
- Authors
- Jantika, W; Wiriya-alongkorn, W; Schulze, K; Ongprasert, S; Spreer, W; Müller, J
- Year of publication
- 2011
- Conference name
- International conference on The Role of Agriculture and Natural Resources on Global Changes (ANGC2011)
- Conference location
- Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Conference date
- November 7 - 9, 2011
The efficient use of water resources in agriculture is one key towards sustainable development. Knowledge about plant water requirement and the monitoring of stress are important management tools for appropriate water use. Thermal imaging has become a standardized method for early detection of water stress. However, even though scientific studies proof its applicability, it is not widely used in the
practice. Main reason therefore is the high cost of thermal imaging equipment. In this study two different thermo camera systems of different price segments were compared with respect to their suitability for plant stress monitoring:
· InfraCAM SD (FLIR, Sweden) at a price of about 5,000 Euros
· VarioCAM HiRes 384 sl (Infratec, Germany) at a price of about 25,000 Euros
Ipomoea aquatica (Forssk., cv. Reptan) was drip irrigated at field capacity (based on average canopy temperature (Tc), vaseline coated leaves (Tmax) and water sprayed leaves (Tbase). With either camera CWSI based on thermal imaging showed a high correlation with the stomatal resistance. Thus, monitoring of water stress was possible with both systems. Further, this study discusses the differences in terms of ease of precision, ease of handling and data process.