Non invasive imaging of plants and plant roots in substrate with Nuclear Magnetic Resonant Imaging (NMRI) and (Sub) Terrahertz Imaging (THz) Dr. Axel Jung Ricarda van der Heijden Beta Klinik Bonn Dr. Karsten Specht University of Bergen Prof. Dr. Martin Koch IHF TU Braunschweig Dr. Jörg Vandenhirtz Matthias Eberius Dirk Vandenhirtz LemnaTec

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Goal of this joint study: Can Nuclear Magnetic Resonant Imaging (NMRI) or (Sub) Terrahertz Imaging (Thz) be used for obtaining non invasive and valuable information about plant roots in substrate? 3D root morphologie 3D root dynamics 3D root activity (water distribution) etc...

Used Plants: Corn Plants in transparent pots:

Siemens MAGNETOM Espree 1.5T NMR settings: * B = 1.5 T TE = 12 ms TR = 5.0 s FoV = 250 x 250 ST = 1 mm * Dr. Peter Blümeler FZ Jülich ICG-3 ecoNMR „Magnetic Resonance of plants“ B: Magnetic field = 1.5 Tesla TE: Time between excitation and echo detection TR: Recovery time between 2 succeeding experiments FoV: Field of view ST: Slice thickness Price: 1.5 Mio Euro

First Results of Dr. Axel Jung, Beta-Klinik, Bonn

First Results of Dr. Axel Jung, Beta-Klinik, Bonn

Dr. Specht tried NMRI of his office Plant... Problems: artefacts (debris) in substrate hide roots (H2O + Fe) low contrast between roots and background correct setting of NMR has to be researched -> Contact to Dr. Karsten Specht Department of Biological and Medical Psychology University of Bergen, Norway Research on NMRI Dr. Specht tried NMRI of his office Plant...

First Results of Dr. Karsten Specht, Uni Bergen: CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL

First Results of Dr. Karsten Specht, Uni Bergen: CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL

NMRI Conclusions: + Standard medical NMR scanners are able to provide 3D information about root architecture and dynamics with mm resolution + NMRI is a promising tool for non invasive root imaging of plants o Correct NMR settings for root imaging have to be researched and optimized o Peat substrate minimizes H2O and Fe background problems Measurement time (ca. 20 min.) not suitable for high throughput - Very expensive (ca. 1.5 Mio Euro)

Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik Complementary option for non invasive and penetrating plant sensors: Infrared Microwaves Ultraviolet X-Ray Visible 10 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Frequency (Hz) “THz” Radiowaves 8 7 THz radation can be considered as high-frequency microwaves or very long waved light. Prof. Dr. Martin Koch Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik TU Braunschweig

First THz image of a leaf with high resolution Water concentration Fresh leaf 48 hours after it has been cut out CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL Bell Labs Lucent Technologies B.B. Hu und M.C. Nuss, Opt. Lett. 20, 1716 (1995)

First Results of Prof. Dr. Martin Koch, Braunschweig: …and measuring the transmission of the sub THz signal THz detector CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL THz transmitter moving a coffee plant between a sub THz transmitter and detector…

The lift and rotating devices of the LemnaTec Phenotyping Platform are already integrated for 3D THz scans in cylindrical coordinates: z f transmitter THz detector Combining 3D THz transmission measurements with visible 3D RGB image data of the LemnaTec Phenotyping Platform

THz Conclusions: + Measurement time (ca. 2 min.) suitable for high throughput + Cheaper as NMRI (ca. 150,000 Euro) + THz is a promising alternative for non invasive 3D imaging of plants + plastic is tranparent for THz radiation -> plastic hydroponics could be used for THz root imaging o Hardware and software for THz root imaging have to be researched and optimized - Resolution 1 cm not suitable for root architecture

standard of the shelf technology Conclusions: NMRI THz Hardware standard of the shelf technology to be developed Software Throughput ca. 20 min. per plant ca. 2 min. per plant Resolution ca. 1 mm ca. 1 cm Hazards high B-Field none Price ca. 1.5 Mio. Euro ca. 150,000 Euro Target roots and shoots shoots (roots?)