Using thermal imaging for assessing the water status of barley

Abstract

Knowing the water status of plants is required for precise irrigation. Evaporation of water through stomata cools the plant leaf while in low water status plants tend to restrict the evaporation which in turn increases the temperature of the plant. In this study, it was tried to determine the possibility of recognition of the plant status via its thermal reflectance by means of thermal imaging. Three levels of irrigation were studied on two different varieties of barley. Results showed a good agreement between the measured temperature of the plants and their water status for both varieties which means that thermal imaging can effectively determine the water need of the barley plants. This method can be developed for precision irrigation systems to save the irrigated water and nutrients leaching.