Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news!

Subscribe I am already a subscriber

You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker).

As we provide the news for free, we are relying on revenues from our banners. So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.
Thanks!

Click here for a guide on disabling your adblocker.

Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news!

Subscribe I am already a subscriber

'Electronic bloodhound' detects pathogens by smell

A new electronic bloodhound capable of sniffing out plant disease will shortly be available for use across the agricultural industry.

Dubbed an E-Nose, the equipment has been developed by engineers and scientists to detect crop pathogens by smell weeks before any infection becomes outwardly apparent or evident on any visual basis.

“It’s an amazing tool for early detection,” commented Kit Franklin, a lecturer of agricultural engineering at Harper Adams University.

Mr Franklin revealed the technological advance during a discussion on the latest sensors, robotics and automation at the SRUC and AHDB’s joint Agronomy 2017 (Scotland) forum, staged at Perth Racecourse this week.

He said E-Noses will potentially be able to give arable farmers as much as a two-week head start when it comes to controlling a wide variety of plant diseases – from fungi to oomycetes, bacteria, viruses and nematodes.

“The equipment can effectively smell disease long before any human is able to see it coming,” commented Mr Franklin.

Read more at The Courier
Publication date: