How crop-level visibility is driving smarter decisions and better yields

A commercial UK greenhouse growing strawberries (for illustrative purposes only)

At a glance:

Extreme weather, water shortages and rising input costs are making crop production increasingly unpredictable. Early detection gives growers the visibility to act before stress or disease spreads, protecting yields and reducing wasted inputs. Fotenix uses spectral imaging and AI to scan every leaf, spotting changes days or even weeks before they’re visible to the eye, helping growers save time and resources, and maximise yields.

---

Another summer nearly gone and, yet again, growers have been clobbered. Heatwaves, water shortages, tighter labour supply, and increasing compliance demands are piling on the pressure.

It’s a familiar story that has played out in one shape or another year on year. The conditions in which crops are produced are changing rapidly. Uncertainty is about the only thing we can be certain of, and it’s leaving less and less room for error. 

Why visibility matters

For growers battling extreme weather, rising operational costs, and resourcing challenges, there isn’t time anymore to ‘wait and see.’ Conditions are so changeable that instincts and experience aren’t as relevant as they once were, either. 

Waiting until issues develop and spread to multiple plants not only risks jeopardising the entire crop, but can force blanket interventions that are costly and put extra strain on already stressed ecosystems. What’s needed is a clear view of what’s happening at a plant level. 

The value of early detection 

Fotenix combines spectral imaging with artificial intelligence (AI) analysis, scanning every leaf in every tray, bench, or level, and highlighting individual plants that are under stress, suffering from malnutrition, or at risk from pests. Scans occur during the night, and the system can detect minute changes, reducing time-to-respond by 80% in controlled environments. In practice, that means spotting problems in days rather than weeks – a head start that can mean the difference between a targeted intervention or a six-figure fix. 

“You can’t inspect every lead by hand,” explains GrowUp’s Head of Crop Optimisation, Rhydian Beyon-Davies. “With Fotenix, it’s like having eyes on every product, every second. We’ve elevated our quality control game without adding complexity.” 

That ability to intervene precisely matters most when resources are stretched. If you’re hiring water tankers in a heatwave, you need to know which plants actually need the extra water, and which don’t. Imaging provides the answer, ensuring resources go further without hitting yields. The same applies to pests: picking up the earliest signals means you can act quickly and locally, rather than drenching whole houses in chemicals.

If you’re hiring water tankers in a heatwave, you need to know which plants actually need the extra water. 

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that around 20-40% of global crops are lost due to pests and disease, and warns that climate change is likely to aid the spread and increase the damage done by pests. Fotenix is currently working with the team at the UK-Agri Tech Centre to identify invasive slug species and create smart maps to guide the use of novel, sustainable pesticides, which will ultimately reduce chemical use and promote stronger crops. 

The benefits of the system aren’t limited to resource efficiency. Angus Soft Fruits (AFS) is known for the production of premium berries, among other species, and the team has been trialing multi-spectral imaging to gain a better understanding of crop performance. It’s currently leveraging Fotenix to automate the phenotyping of traits like fruit size, colour, and uniformity.

“We’re excited to see where the possibilities of automated phenotyping go,” said Lucy Wilkins, ASF Breeding Programme Director, highlighting the potential to identify traits that are difficult to score manually. 

Data-driven farming

Real-time insight into plant quality and health inevitably changes how decisions are made on farm. Growers don’t have to wait for symptoms to become so advanced that they’re visible to human scouts; instead, they have updates at a plant level every morning, including alerts to potential issues. This allows for decisive action; if you can spot the problem when it first begins, you can treat it then and there, limiting intervention and minimising the impact on the plant’s health and growth.

For healthy plants, insight gathered from multi-spectral imaging can be used to optimise processes, allowing irrigation, lighting, and nutrition to be tweaked to meet the crop's needs, with data from one season used to inform the next.

Even in less data-driven operations, daily insight can serve as a catalyst, prompting conversations about the value of long-established routines and providing guidance on how best to adjust and adapt those processes during times of volatility. 

Combatting uncertainty 

As growers face down increasingly erratic weather and ongoing economic challenges, crop-level data becomes an essential weapon against uncertainty. Whether the goal is to maxmise yeilds or optimise breeding programmes, tools like Fotenix are helping to provide insight and guidance on how best to use the resources available. 

If you’re not already leveraging these technologies, then it’s time to ask yourself: how many more seasons can you afford to fly blind? See what early detection could mean for your farm, contact the Fotenix team today.