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Assessment of the performance of a self-developed thermal camera system in sugarbeet field

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  2026 ASABE Annual International Meeting  2600583.(doi:10.13031/aim.202600583)
Authors:   PoNien Su, Shuhua Xie, Joseph Oboamah, XayVian Gonzales, Owen Osmera, Hugo Nunes, Wei-Zhen Liang, Xin Qiao
Keywords:   Canopy Temperature, Edge Computing, Infrared radiometer, Thermal Camera

Abstract. Efficient irrigation management is critical for sugar beet production in semi-arid regions, where crop water stress can affect root yield and sucrose accumulation. Thermal-based sensors are widely used to monitor crop water status; however, their application can be limited by background interference from soil, shadows, and other non-canopy features. Edge-computing thermal camera systems offer a potential approach to continuous, high-frequency, plot-scale canopy temperature monitoring, but their reliability under field conditions has been insufficiently evaluated. This study deployed custom dual RGB–thermal edge-computing camera systems, referred to as ThermalCAM, together with infrared radiometer (IRT) sensors to monitor sugar beet canopy temperature and evaluate system reliability. The experiment was conducted during the 2025 growing season at the Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center (PREEC), University of Nebraska–Lincoln, in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, USA. A randomized complete block design was used, with multiple irrigation levels and cutoff-based irrigation treatments applied using a variable-rate linear-move sprinkler system. Fifteen ThermalCAM–IRT sensor pairs were installed across selected treatments. Although ThermalCAM readings showed strong agreement with reference target temperatures during indoor calibration, the resulting linear calibration models did not substantially improve agreement with IRT measurements in the field. During full canopy cover, only a subset of ThermalCAM units showed strong linear relationships with corresponding IRT readings. Statistical analysis indicated that solar radiation was the most influential meteorological factor affecting ThermalCAM readings. These results suggest that indoor temperature-based calibration alone is insufficient for reliable field deployment. Improved calibration procedures that incorporate solar radiation and other field-specific environmental factors are needed before ThermalCAM can be reliably used for crop water status monitoring.

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