POMA can provide health measurements for every plant in a field. Composite images show which plants are growing with maximum chlorophyll-output rates and which have been compromised. POMA provides farmers an immediate crop-health assessment with actionable data to optimize yields.

POMA:

• Measures plant growth rates and photosensitivity. A farmer can determine if crops are growing at maximum yield rates, plant-by-plant. Early detection of infestations means that growers can immediately initiate crop loss mitigation efforts.

• Captures images of plant immune responses to pathogens and insects. Earlier detection will help minimize crop losses. The detection is immediate and timely. Time delays incurred by sending samples to a lab and waiting for long incubation periods can cost days of rapidly spreading bacterial infestations that can cause the loss of entire harvests

Infected seeds present liabilities and economic risks to growers and seed providers

Infections can be introduced to healthy farms by contaminated seed or by insects. In many instances, POMA can identify if infestations are caused by current season insect infestations or by the purchased seeds.

PVY Potato Virus

PVY potato virus: Visible by the bright white stem areas extending into the leaf

POMA also has demonstrated the identification of pseudomonas in cilantro fields. Immediate immune responses to pathogens are identified before they were visualized by farmers and government inspectors.

Pseudomonas Syringae

POMA can improve harvest yields by identifying which plants harbor infections and should be culled, such as those with pseudomonas. POMA can provide workers with the ability to cull all infected leaves in a large farm region. It can enable a coordinated reduction of disease-infected insect populations that rapidly disperse pathogen vectors across multiple farms.

The wine industry and Red Blotch virus

The POMA scan on the right identifies a large white area that is Red Blotch
disease that is invisible to the human eye.

The Red Blotch virus is threatening the entire U.S. wine industry, as it directly affects brix levels and taste. A coordinated regional effort of all vineyards in a region could eliminate disease by simultaneously removing the reservoir of pathogens in contaminated leaves that is spread by insects from plant to plant. The pattern of the mottling can indicate if the source is from a current-season insect infestation or from juvenile grape vines.