VOC-based air monitoring for earlier detection of crop disease in protected growing environments

Soft fruit, salad crops and herbs are vulnerable to fungal diseases such as Botrytis and mildew, which can reduce yield, affect quality and increase reliance on chemical crop protection. In protected growing environments such as polytunnels and glasshouses, earlier detection could help growers intervene more precisely and reduce crop losses.

RoboScientific is exploring the use of VOC-based air monitoring to identify changes associated with crop disease before visible symptoms become widespread. By sampling the air around growing plants, the technology is designed to detect volatile organic compounds linked to changes in plant, fruit or pathogen activity.

The approach is non-invasive and can be used without touching the crop. Air samples can be collected from within the growing environment and analysed using RoboScientific’s sensor technology to investigate whether disease-related VOC patterns can be recognised.

Current development interest includes soft fruit grown in polytunnels, such as strawberries and raspberries, where diseases including Botrytis can have a significant commercial impact. Further trials and grower partnerships are needed to validate how early and reliably the technology can detect disease under real production conditions.

This application forms part of RoboScientific’s wider VOC sensing platform, applying the same core technology used in livestock health monitoring to crop protection and sustainable food production.

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