Mango Leaf Monitoring with Inductive and Capacitive Sensors and Its Comparison with Trunk Dendrometer Measurements

Mango is one of the main fruits grown in Mexico that are exported worldwide, but the trees consume a lot of water, and irrigation scheduling should be implemented to optimize water use. Dendrometers were installed in fruit trees to optimize water usage during 2019 and 2020. A capacitor with Teflon clamps pressurized the leaf, and its dielectric changed with leaf water content. Additionally, Hall sensors were installed in leaves to study the effect of water during mango production. It was found that capacitance tend to be more sensitive than magnetic field monitoring. Higher changes were noted during midday with warm weather. Thresholds from the capacitance and Hall effect sensors can provide signals for irrigation scheduling.