Nitrogen is an essential building block in plant development. Deficiency occurs when the acidity in the indoor farm’s nutrient solution is reduced. Among many things, it is needed for chlorophyll formation which is vital for photosynthesis, how plants create their food.
Without nitrogen your plants can’t grow. When it gets deficient from it in the process the plant consistently becomes weaker and eventually stops its development.
Known symptoms include the gradual yellowing of the leaves and stopping of plant growth. Over time its leaves will fall off. Other than discoloration and a stunted growth, nitrogen deficiency opens doors to pests, mold, and other diseases as the plants version of an immune system is compromised.
Once you detect the symptoms, you’ll have enough time to act unless the plant is almost dead. Nitrogen is a nutrient that moves from one place to another. The deficiency symptoms begin in the lower leaves first, gradually moving up. if the issue is not fixed it then affects the newer leaves.
In the Ecobloom R&D facility, we experimented on basil grown in 2 trays under the same nutritional and environmental conditions and then later on induced nitrogen deficiency in one of them. Because nitrogen deficiency slows down growth and chlorophyll, EcoSense’s smart multispectral cameras detect the loss of photosynthetic activity and changes in the speed of growth. With the EcoSense intelligent virtual agronomist, early detection of nutritional deficiencies and alerts allow your farmers to act on it quickly to prevent waste and further spreading of other diseases as a result of unhealthy plants.
Using a sensory monitoring system such as EcoSense that can identify a plant’s ability to perform photosynthesis greatly reduces the risk of spreading diseases resulting in food waste in your facility. This is especially useful in controlled environments with controlled and predictable lighting conditions.
