Dr Mike Hughes, Dr Radu Stancu, and PhD researcher Josh Fennell represented the Applied Optics Group (AOG) at Fruit Focus on 9th July, held at the NIAB campus in East Malling, West Kent. This major event in the fruit industry calendar was a chance to showcase the AOG’s latest research applying optical imaging technologies to plant science.
In particular, the team discussed the potential of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) as a non-invasive imaging technique with wide-ranging potential agricultural applications, including early pathogen detection, fruit ripeness assessment, and seed viability analysis. Josh’s PhD research, co-supervised by AOG and NIAB through the SoCoBio Doctoral Training Partnership, focuses on using OCT to study brown rot in cherries. This work is complemented by a BBSRC-funded research project led by Prof Adrian Podoleanu, exploring advanced OCT techniques for broader plant science applications.
At the event, the AOG team delivered flash talks and hosted live demonstrations of their low-cost OCT system at a stand in the NIAB tent.
We extend our thanks to Scott Raffle and Dr Matevž Papp-Rupar at NIAB for their support in facilitating AOG’s participation.
