PARADe: a low-cost open-source device for photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) measurements

Arnaud Coffin (1) , Bonnefoy-Claudet Clément (2) , Morgane Chassaigne (2) , Arthur Jansen (2) , Christelle Gée (1)

1 Agroécologie [Dijon]
2 AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement

In agriculture, proximal in-field information is crucial for a precise management of crop growth. A low-cost, miniaturized and innovative device, named PARADe (PAR Acquisition Device), is designed for in-field photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) acquisition. It combines an affordable PAR line quantum sensor (PAR/LE, SOLEM) and an open source development platform (microcontroller) based on Arduino Integrated Development Environment. The quality of the measurement of the PARADe acquisition chain has been validated. The calibration is done by comparison (R2=0.99) with a robust acquisition chain composed of a certified PAR sensor (PQS1, Kipp & Zonen) and a data-logger (CR1000 Campbell Scientific). The accuracy of PARADe measurements is evaluated through three indicators, relative error, RMSE and normalized RMSE. They demonstrate that the PARADe system has certain operating limitations especially for low solar angles (sunset and sunrise) due to the choice of a line quantum sensor. This does not affect the accuracy and reliability of the results, but indicates that the PARADe device is specifically adapted to collect daily cumulative PAR values.

Mots clés: PAR sensor; Calibration; Open source; ESP32 card; Data logging; Wi-Fi

Domaines: Sciences et techniques de l'agriculture; Agronomie; Technologies Émergeantes [cs.ET]

Arnaud Coffin, Bonnefoy-Claudet Clément, Morgane Chassaigne, Arthur Jansen, Christelle Gée. PARADe: a low-cost open-source device for photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) measurements. Smart Agricultural Technology, 2021, 1, pp.100018. ⟨10.1016/j.atech.2021.100018⟩. ⟨hal-03430473⟩