In modern agriculture, there’s a growing need for greater efficiency, quality, and safety in production. Spectroscopic techniques are increasingly used to meet these needs during and after production and processing. Compact and rugged spectrometers, combined with the benefits of fiber-optic sampling, are driving the widespread adoption of this technology in the agricultural & food industry. On this page, you will find various applications in which spectroscopy adds value.
Spectroscopy in Agriculture
Spectroscopy is widely used in botany, horticulture, and agriculture for detailed spectral analysis. Fiber-optic spectrometers allow for real-time, in-situ measurements, making it easier to monitor plants directly in their growing environment. Avantes’ instruments are versatile and can be used for various applications, including: chlorophyll detection in monitoring crop health, sugar measurements in assessing fruit quality, or radiometric measurements for checking light levels in greenhouses.
Avantes partners with a range of agricultural customers, from researchers to large industrial operations, providing tailored solutions to meet their specific needs. Watch the video below to discover various applications in which spectroscopy is applied.
Leaf/Foliage Measurements
Direct leaf measurement provides for the characterization of various plant health parameters. The AvaSpec-Mini2048CL is an ideal instrument for handheld agricultural measurements such as leaf reflection or transmission.
Numerous plant biologists have deployed the AvaSpec-ULS2048CL-EVO spectrometers into the field for in-situ reflection measurements of fruit and flower specimen using the AvaLight-XE pulsed Xenon source for an excitation source and a fiber-optic reflection probe for sampling.
Plant Health and Intelligent Fertilizer Application
Chlorophyll measurements in the visible and near-infrared regions are commonly utilized in agriculture and can approximate plant health using reflection techniques on plant foliage. The AvaSpec-ULS2048CL-EVO spectrometer is particularly well suited to this application due to its high speed and quantum efficiency. Integrated systems have been developed with the AvaSpec-ULS2048CL-EVO to measure chlorophyll in real-time and intelligently apply fertilizers to crops based on sophisticated chemometric models while driving through a field at 40 kilometers per hour.
Grain Analysis
The third and second overtones of the near-infrared range are used to determine organic nitrogen and protein through the characterization of the C-H, N-H, and O-H stretching vibrations in these spectral regions. These measurements are often used in the agricultural industry to analyze grains.
The previously mentioned bands are weak absorption bands, which can facilitate unprocessed grain seed because low absorbance means that the material is mostly transparent, allowing for deeper penetration. The downside to these bands is that they produce low signal intensity, which prevents the need for good signal-to-noise performance.
The AvaSpec-Mini-NIR is an ideal instrument for this measurement. For even higher performance into the second overtone, the AvaSpec-NIR256-1.7-EVO spectrometer is a very affordable InGaAs sensor instrument.
Spectroscopy in the Food Industry
Fruit Sorting
Fruit-sorting operations often utilize multi-variate spectral analysis in the NIR 850-1100 nm to derive sugar (⁰Bx or Brix). Avantes’ AvaSpec-HS2048XL-EVO back-thinned CCD spectrometers are ideal instruments for this diffuse reflection application, where sensitivity and high speed are required.
Dairy Product Characterization
Dairy operations are some of the most demanding for spectroscopic process control in agriculture. Near-infrared spectroscopy is a non-destructive method for analyzing milk content for proteins, fat, water content, carbohydrates, and minerals, among other constituents. The traditionally used chemical analysis methods require specialized personnel and laboratory equipment and are often destructive in methodology and therefore wasteful.
NIR spectroscopy also curbs adulteration of dairy products with substances such as vegetable fats, sugars, and foreign proteins and monitors and standardizes production yields.
Avantes NIRLine instruments are ideally suited to this application with 3-stage thermoelectric cooling and fast numerical apertures optical designs to maximize spectral acquisition speeds. The AvaSpec-NIR256/512-1.7-HSC-EVO instruments are ideal candidates for this application.
For easy integration into different machines, we offer the AvaSpec-Mini-NIR. This compact, versatile near-infrared spectrometer is well suited for various agricultural applications, including grain analysis and dairy product characterization.
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Learn more about spectroscopy applications in Precision Agriculture
Why choose Avantes for your agricultural or food application?
- Easily specify colour and quality of food
- Reliability in the field with robust technology and simplicity
- High production yield enabled by fast spectroscopy for in-line monitoring systems (high sensitivity, fast data acquisition and transfer)
- Customized products for seamless OEM integration
Related Products
These include some of the products mentioned in the application examples above. Contact one of our sales engineers to help you find the perfect setup for your application.
Application Examples
Below are some detailed application notes on various uses of spectroscopy in the agriculture & food industry.