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Why is plant temperature important?

Plant temperature, such as leaf, fruit, or flower temperature, provides an indication of plant status in response to its environment. Alongside air temperature measurements, plant temperature can help growers better understand plant status. As an example, if the leaf temperature is higher than the surrounding air temperature, it may be an indication that the plant is under stress. These measurements can be used to further investigate the possible causes for plant stress and take necessary actions to correct the issue.

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How does the Plant Temperature Sensor work?

The plant temperature sensor has a thermistor in the center which works as a touch probe to measure surface temperature of the leaf. The thermistor is supported by the stainless-steel clips. The sensor is available in two configurations:
  • Single-clip sensor
  • Four-clip sensor
The four-clip sensor reports the average reading across all four probes.

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Installation Instructions

  1. Before installation, select the leaf or leaves you want to monitor based on your objective. For example, you may want to track the temperature of a single leaf over time or measure leaf temperature in the head of a vine tomato crop.
  2. To install the sensor to a leaf, open the clips and attach the sensor to the leaf.
    1. Make sure the thermistor is touching the underside of the leaf and is shaded from direct radiation, as shown in Figure 1. Exposure to direct radiation can affect reading accuracy.
  3. Once installed, take a few readings, and make sure the readings represent the plant temperature by comparing it with air temperature. If needed, attach sensors to different leaves of the same plant until representative readings are obtained.
  4. Once the sensor is in place, secure the cable to the plant stem to prevent movement.
    1. As the crop grows, or in lowering vine crops in greenhouses, please make sure to adjust the cable length or re-attach the sensors to representative leaves. 
Always check data for anomalies and make sure the data anomalies are not due to sensor install errors.
Figure 1 Placement Of The Plant Temperature Sensor On The Leaf (source)
Figure 1: Placement of the plant temperature sensor on the leaf (source)