Designing a device for express control of the condition of crops after winter

One of the most serious problems in the cultivation of winter crops is the task of controlling the condition and development of plants, especially in the winter periods of the year. Decisions on the quality of their wintering have to be made on the basis of long-term studies carried out in laboratory conditions. In order to exclude serious time expenditures and to be able to make decisions at the place of plant growth and development, an express method of such an assessment and a technical means for implementing it are needed. To carry out an express assessment of the viability of plant tissue of winter crops, it is proposed to use the principle of electrical impedance spectroscopy, which consists in measuring the impedance of plant tissue at specifically selected frequencies of the measuring current. The quantitative assessment itself is carried out in relation to the measured impedances at specific frequencies or what is equivalent in terms of the value of the coefficient of life state. At the heart of the portable device, it is proposed to use the commercially available AD5933 microcircuit, which is a ready-made precision impedance spectrometer, which is made on a single crystal, and has an internal digital signal processing, connecting via an I2C interface to the main information presentation system. The use of the AD5933 microcircuit as an impedance meter can significantly reduce the weight and dimensions of the device and make it portable. At the first stages of the design of this device, an algorithm was developed for its operation of the program for calculating the coefficient of the vital state of plant tissue of winter crops. Based on the developed algorithm, a schematic diagram of the developed portable device is designed and a description of its operation is presented. The designed portable device can not only determine the degree of overwintering of winter crops, but can also be used in horticulture and viticulture to assess the viability of seedlings of fruit trees and shanks (cuttings of an annual fruiting vine) of grapes.