There is a growing interest in using miniature multi-sensor technology to\nmonitor plant, soil, and environmental conditions in greenhouses and in field\nsettings. The objectives of this study were to build a small multi-channel\nsensing system with ability to measure visible and near infrared light reflectance,\nrelative humidity, and temperature, to test the light reflectance sensors\nfor measuring spectral characteristics of plant leaves and soilless media, and\nto compare results of the relative humidity and temperature sensors to identical\nmeasurement obtained from a greenhouse sensor. The sensing system\nwas built with off-the-shelf miniature multispectral spectrometers and relative\nhumidity and temperature sensors. The spectrometers were sensitive to\nvisible, red-edge, and near infrared light. The system was placed in a greenhouse\nsetting and used to obtain relative reflectance measurements of plant\nleaves and soilless media and to record temperature and relative humidity\nconditions in the greenhouse. The spectrometer data obtained from plant leaf\nand soilless media were compatible with baseline spectral data collected with\na hyperspectral spectroradiometer. The greenhouse was equipped with a relative\nhumidity and temperature sensor. The relative humidity and temperature\nsensor measurements from our sensor system were strongly correlated with\nthe relative humidity and temperature results obtained with the greenhouse\nsensors (i.e. , correlation coefficients > 0.70 or <--0.70), and the mean relative\nhumidity and temperature sensor values were similar for our system and the\ngreenhouse system. Overall, the proposed sensor showed good potential as a\ntool to measure spectral response patterns of plant and potting mix material\nand environmental conditions relevant to greenhouse research. The system\nwas inexpensive to build; the total cost of its components was 123 Dollars .
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