The Sentinel Crop Disease Surveillance Network

As with many developed countries the UK's agricultural land is under pressure to provide food to a growing population in the most efficient and sustainable manner. There is an added opportunity and responsibility for countries like the UK to take the lead in developing solutions for the UNSDG's in this case \#2 Zero Hunger.

Airborne pathogens infect cereal and horticultural crops reducing the yield per hectare. While their impact can be mitigated by the use of fungicides, these must be used responsibly and sustainably.

This project creates a solution comprising several, identical sensing devices located in the field of crops. The data from each sensor provides an early warning of the presence of the pathogen which is turned into a recommended management plan for the farmer/grower.

Each device comprises a biosensor that stimulates the targeted pathogen spore to germinate, a smart camera to detect that growth, a set of environmental sensors and a wireless communication module all housed in a weatherproof, robust housing.

By combining the data from the sensors over a wide area it is possible to create additional services on top of the service provided to individual farmers/growers, for example disease prediction forecasts, crop protection research and retail planning.

A consortium comprising electronics, agricultural chemicals, materials, industrial design and several leading academic institutions have come together with farmers and growers to develop the solution for deployment in the UK and globally.