A holistic non-destructive data driven demonstrator to quantify potato crops during growth to realise maximum marketable yield and help reduce waste, contributing to net zero emissions - TUBERSCAN-DEMO

确定收获马铃薯的正确日期是马铃薯种植者必须做出的最关键决定之一。如果他们过早地采摘马铃薯，它们可能低于最佳尺寸，导致产量低于最大潜在产量，如果他们采摘得太晚，它们可能太大而无法满足买方的规格，使它们无法销售。无论哪种方式，种植者都失去了潜在的收入。最近的一个概念验证创新英国项目（TUBERSCAN）表明，有可能使用新技术来非侵入性地测量土壤中马铃薯块茎的总生物量。将其与马铃薯植物的地上数据相结合，可以准确地确定每株马铃薯植物的块茎数量。此外，还开展了研究，以创建一个具有成本效益的技术解决方案，在商业平台上支持上述工作。该项目的目的是在TUBERSCAN项目的研究结果的基础上，开发和测试一个创新的示范系统，以测量和绘制整个马铃薯田的平均块茎大小和产量。这些数据将提供洞察力，推动早期干预和/或选择性收获，从而优化作物产量和资源利用。预计这项技术可以使英国可销售的马铃薯产量增加5 - 10%，同时有助于减少整个供应链的浪费，努力实现马铃薯产业的净零排放。

Determining the correct date on which to harvest potatoes is one of the most critical decisions potato growers must make. If they lift their potatoes too early, they may be below the optimum size resulting in less than the maximum potential output being produced, if they lift them too late, they may be too large to meet buyer specifications making them unsaleable. Either way the grower loses potential income. A recent proof of concept Innovate UK project (TUBERSCAN) has shown that it is possible to use new technologies to non-invasively measure the total biomass of potato tubers in the soil. Combining this with above ground data of potato plants, number of tubers per potato plant can be accurately determined. In addition, research has been conducted to create a cost-effective technology solution that supports the above on a commercial platform.The aim of this project is to build on the findings from the TUBERSCAN project to develop and test an innovative demonstrator system to measure and map average tuber sizes and yield throughout potato fields. This data will provide insights to will drive early interventions and/or selective harvesting to take place, thereby optimising crop yield and resource use. It is anticipated that this technology could generate an estimated 5 - 10% increase in UK marketable potato production, while assisting with reducing waste throughout the supply chain, working towards net zero emissions in the potato industry.