Phyto-monitoring System
at the Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University, Germany

Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences was enriched with a valuable plant growth monitoring facility. Together with the scientist Dr. med. Yuri Ton from the manufacturer company Bioinstruments and the Managing Director of the supplier company STEP Systems, Harald Braungardt, a complete phyto-monitoring system was installed and put into operation.

The facility should primarily serve as education support for students. It allows continuous and automatic monitoring and documentation of photosynthesis. This is done by means of highly accurate measuring sensors attached to the leaf and stem, e.g. for the CO2 exchange of the leaf, the light (PAR) radiation, air and leaf temperature and humidity, stem diameter, etc. Especially the CO2 measurements in the automatically opening and closing in a specific time interval leaf chambers give accurate and valuable information about the physiological processes of the plant.

Prof. Dr. Mempel from the Faculty of Horticulture and Food Technology was delighted with the new facility: “The phyto-monitoring system will be applied primarily in practical traineeships and experiments with students. Above all, we want to study the influence of different LED illuminations on photosynthesis and can clearly illustrate the results. Also in our upcoming experiments with plant production in closed facilities, e.g. in sea containers, continuous photosynthesis measurement can provide valuable information for optimal growth conditions.”