Sensors for Agriculture and the Food Industry

This article discusses the applications of sensors in the agriculture and the food sectors, including remote spectral sensing, electronic noses, electrochemical sensors, biosensors, and wireless sensor networks. Remote spectral sensing can be used to detect crop nutrition, crop disease, water deficiency or surplus, weed infestations, insect damage, plant populations, flood management, and many other field conditions. The electronic nose is used in the food industry to assess the freshness/spoilage of fruits and vegetables during the processing and packaging process. Two types of electrochemical sensors, namely ion-selective electrodes (ISE) and ion-selective field effect transistor sensors (ISEFT) are discussed. The use of biosensors to detect chemical contaminants and food-borne pathogens and wireless sensor networks to enable new precision in agricultural practice are also discussed.