Ground sensing technology TuberScan – developed by agri-tech business B-hive Innovations and partners – is entering its final phase of testing both overseas and now in the UK following the start of this year’s weather-delayed potato growing season.
In its current iteration, the TuberScan system comprises of a bespoke ground penetrating radar (GPR) system, GPS units and in-field and remote sensors, backed up by computer vision and AI, which provide detailed information on potato crop growth characteristics and performance.
The system also detects where each potato has been planted, to go beyond traditional sampling methods conducted by growers.
The four-year research and development project has been funded by Innovate UK across two different research programmes. B-hive has collaborated with nationwide potato supplier Branston Ltd, The University of Manchester and Harper Adams University to create demonstration units.
Effie Warwick-John, project manager on TuberScan at B-hive Innovations, is confident that the project is on track for a successful final season, which has commenced with field trials in Mallorca and Lincolnshire.
“The trials in Spain enable us to check that our equipment is working accurately, with enough hardware stocked ahead of the UK growing season to allow for damage to prototypes during testing. It allows us to determine which hardware choices are best suited to the start or end of the season as conditions change and foliage develops.”
“We are experimenting with ground-penetrating radar systems (GPR) that can operate to a high accuracy despite having a relatively large air gap between the sensor and the soil, providing a great balance between ease of mounting and quality of data.”
In the UK, trialling has been in three fields owned by David Armstrong Farms in Lincolnshire to collect additional testing data.
David Armstrong said: “As a grower, I would like to learn as much about my produce as possible. Ensuring its quality, variety and yield size is crucial to help me make informed decisions around the growing process and understand the marketable yield.
“It’s exciting to see how modern methods of monitoring root crop performance could soon become the norm and it’s imperative that we keep waste to a minimum. From first-hand experience we believe that TuberScan can be a key component to achieving this.”