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Analysis of institutional authors

Gracia-Romero, AAuthor

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January 2, 2024
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Field Plant Monitoring from Macro to Micro Scale: Feasibility and Validation of Combined Field Monitoring Approaches from Remote to in Vivo to Cope with Drought Stress in Tomato

Publicated to: Plants-Basel. 12 (22): 3851- - 2023-11-14 12(22), DOI: 10.3390/plants12223851

Authors:

Vurro, F; Croci, M; Impollonia, G; Marchetti, E; Gracia-Romero, A; Bettelli, M; Araus, JL; Amaducci, S; Janni, M
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Affiliations

CNR, Ist Mat Elettron & Magnetismo IMEM, Parco Area Sci 37-A, I-43124 Parma, Italy - Author
Cultius Extensius Sostenibles. Producció Vegetal - Author
Inst Food & Agr Res & Technol IRTA, Field Crops Program, Lleida 251981, Spain - Author
Univ Barcelona, Fac Biol, Agrotecnio Ctr Res Agrotechnol, Plant Physiol Sect,Integrat Crop Ecophysiol Grp, Barcelona 08028, Spain - Author
Univ Cattolica Sacro Cuore, Dept Sustainable Crop Prod, Via Emilia Parmense 84, I-29122 Piacenza, Italy - Author
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Abstract

Monitoring plant growth and development during cultivation to optimize resource use efficiency is crucial to achieve an increased sustainability of agriculture systems and ensure food security. In this study, we compared field monitoring approaches from the macro to micro scale with the aim of developing novel in vivo tools for field phenotyping and advancing the efficiency of drought stress detection at the field level. To this end, we tested different methodologies in the monitoring of tomato growth under different water regimes: (i) micro-scale (inserted in the plant stem) real-time monitoring with an organic electrochemical transistor (OECT)-based sensor, namely a bioristor, that enables continuous monitoring of the plant; (ii) medium-scale (<1 m from the canopy) monitoring through red-green-blue (RGB) low-cost imaging; (iii) macro-scale multispectral and thermal monitoring using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). High correlations between aerial and proximal remote sensing were found with chlorophyll-related indices, although at specific time points (NDVI and NDRE with GGA and SPAD). The ion concentration and allocation monitored by the index R of the bioristor during the drought defense response were highly correlated with the water use indices (Crop Water Stress Index (CSWI), relative water content (RWC), vapor pressure deficit (VPD)). A high negative correlation was observed with the CWSI and, in turn, with the RWC. Although proximal remote sensing measurements correlated well with water stress indices, vegetation indices provide information about the crop's status at a specific moment. Meanwhile, the bioristor continuously monitors the ion movements and the correlated water use during plant growth and development, making this tool a promising device for field monitoring.
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Keywords

BioristorConventional digital camerasField monitoringGrain-yieldIndexKeyMultispectralPhenotypingPrecision agricultureRgb-based indexSensorsTomatoUavVapor-pressure deficitVegetationVegetation indices

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Plants-Basel due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2023, it was in position 46/265, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Plant Sciences.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.24. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 13, 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2026-04-04, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 6
  • Europe PMC: 1
  • Google Scholar: 3
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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-04:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 29.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 29 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 1.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 2 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12327/2692
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Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Italy.

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Awards linked to the item

We warmly thank Azienda Sperimentale Stuard for the experimental management and MUTTI SpA for the help in the experimental management and for the qualitative analysis. The authors wish to thank Stefano Caselli (University of Parma) for the coordination of the POSITIVE project. All authors agreed on the acknowledgments.
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