Indigo Ag Adds Tech Tools to the N.C. PSI Toolbox

Thanks to recent donations from Indigo Ag, researchers affiliated with the North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative have access to new tools to support leading edge research into sustainable profitable agricultural solutions.

NC State University faculty and staff associated with the N.C. PSI say the gifts will be especially valuable for interdisciplinary research focused on improving plant health, detecting diseases and breeding superior crop varieties.

Indigo Ag donated a Phenospex Planteye Dual Scan phenotyping robot and two hyperspectral cameras on the eve of NC State’s Day of Giving, March 26.

With headquarters in Boston as well as operations in Research Triangle Park, Indigo Ag is an agricultural technology company focused on improving the sustainability and profitability of agriculture through use of natural microbiology and digital technologies. 

An Investment for Training Tomorrow’s Plant Sciences Leaders

Michelle Hylton, the company’s facilities and operations manager in Research Triangle Park, said one of the reasons Indigo Ag chose to support the N.C. PSI is that many of its employees earned plant sciences degrees from the university. At its core, Indigo Ag is focused on applying the latest tools and technology for research and innovation.

“We see this as a way to invest in the education and development of future talent in the plant sciences and to build a relationship with N.C. State,” she said. “We are excited to be able to provide the equipment that would support innovation and research that occurs daily at the PSI to benefit the agricultural community.”

Opening New Research Avenues

Joe Chiera, who coordinates research projects in NC State’s Plant Sciences Building greenhouses, said the Phenospex robot will be open new avenues for assessing plant health, stress responses and diseases.

“This state-of-the-art technology combines RGB imaging, which captures high-quality color photos of plants, with hyperspectral imaging, which detects subtle changes in plant tissues beyond what the human eye can sees. It also produces detailed 3D images that allow researchers to analyze plant structure, size and growth dynamics with exceptional accuracy,” Chiera said.

Used in greenhouse experiments at the Plant Sciences Building on NC State’s Centennial Campus, the Phenospex system will help researchers monitor plant responses to different conditions over time, providing precise data without harming crops.

“This is especially valuable in plant pathology, where detecting infections early can lead to better disease management strategies,” Chiera said. “It also enhances studies on physiological stress, such as how plants cope with drought, heat or nutrient limitations.”

Bringing Ag Solutions Into Focus

Like the Phenospex, the hyperspectral cameras can also capture images containing information about plant health and other factors. The cameras reveal information that shows up in the near-infrared and short-wave infrared wavelengths that are invisible to the human eye.

Jing Zhang, an assistant professor in NC State’s Department of Horticultural Science, said the cameras could help with a wide range of research on agronomic and horticultural crops. One of the cameras captures images in the 400-1,000 nanometer wavelength of the electromagnetic spectrum, while the other works in the range from 900 to 2,000 nanometers.

Zhang plans to use the cameras in her work advance the use of remote sensing, robotics and data science for better plant breeding and horticultural crop production.

The 900-to-2,000 nm camera should prove especially useful for helping her and her collaborators identify spectral “signatures” for a range of characteristics – from nematode infections in sweetpotatoes to sugar content levels in blueberries – that are important to crop quality and yield.

“It will really expand horizons for us, and that could lead to new and better solutions for farmers,” she said.