Hyperspectral Imaging for Vegetation and Agriculture Research

When plants are exposed to stress conditions, such as high-intensity light and nutrient deficiency, it can adversely affect their growth and yields. Studies have shown that the accumulation of pigments, like anthocyanin, correlated with various types of stresses. It is vital to identify the stress symptoms in plants, such as the presence and accumulation of anthocyanin, early.

The presence of anthocyanin, and other kinds of pigment, usually start in a small region, making it very difficult to identify or estimate how much just by looking at it. Existing methods of quantifying anthocyanin, and other kinds of pigment, often rely on manual visual evaluation or chemical analysis. These methods can be demanding, time-consuming, destructive, and costly.

Imaging-based systems that utilize color and filter or hyperspectral imaging (HSI) cameras are gaining popularity in recent years due to their non-destructive and objective capabilities. A color and filter camera can characterize objects based on their color or shape. However, as it can only record visible light in three spectral bands of red, green, and blue (RGB), its identification capability is minimal.

An HSI camera can record the intensity of light, reflected, absorbed, etc., by a plant over a large continuous range of wavelengths from the visible to near-infrared regions, providing a large amount of detailed information. This allows easy identification and visualization of an object based on its biological, chemical, or physical properties, making it ideal for detecting the presence and severity of stress and other parameters such as water content or photosynthetic status.

While helpful in the field of vegetation and agriculture research, the handling and measuring process of most existing HSI cameras can be rather challenging, especially for users without prior experience or expertise in HSI. Thanks to the advancement in hyperspectral technology, HSI cameras like Specim IQ are making HSI much easier.

The Specim IQ is a handheld hyperspectral camera designed with camera-like and simple usability; Point at the target, define the measurement settings, record and view data. A comprehensive hyperspectral camera based on push-broom (line scan) technology, the Specim IQ has an easy-to-use graphic interface with classification and visualization tools. It can provide quick measurement results and insights without the need for complex mathematics or extensive knowledge of HSI.

Aside from vegetation and agriculture research, Specim IQ is also used in many other research applications, such as food, pharmaceutical, etc. HSI is made simple with Specim IQ. Check out this video to learn more about the simplicity and versatility of Specim IQ.

Need help implementing HSI in your vegetation and agriculture research or looking for the right HSI solutions for your research application? Contact us for a free consultation with our specialist now.