CID Bio-Science, Inc.

06/26/2025

Why Leaf Area Tells You More Than You Think

Leaf area isn’t just about plant size; it’s a window into potential yield. Measuring it in the field gives you real-time insight into photosynthetic capacity, canopy development, and stress response.

More leaf area = more solar capture = more energy for growth.

Quick tools, such as leaf area scanners or image-based apps, can make the process field-friendly.

Leaf area is a yield predictor hiding in plain sight.

06/25/2025

Skipping the usual —let’s talk about this instead.

Roots can still be a black box.

That’s changing. This article highlights time-lapse root imaging tech that lets researchers track root growth in real time!

Read here:

CID Bio-Science has spent years building a reputation of working directly with researchers to create and tailor instruments to their needs.

06/24/2025

Why Your Crops Might Be Underperforming (and It’s Hidden in the Leaves 🌱)

You’ve optimized irrigation, dialed in fertilizer, picked a high-yield variety… but yields still aren’t keeping up with expectations. The issue might be lurking in an overlooked trait: stomatal behavior.

Stomata, tiny pores on leaves, control gas exchange and water loss. When they open, CO₂ comes in (great for photosynthesis), but water escapes (not so great for drought conditions). Here’s the kicker:
Too many open stomata = wasted water. Too few = limited photosynthesis.

What can we do?
Target stomatal traits that boost transpiration efficiency, that sweet spot where the plant gets max carbon gain per drop of water lost. Research shows traits like:
◾️ Faster stomatal response to light/dark
◾️ Lower stomatal density can lead to higher yield per water input, especially under stress.

Plant scientists are utilizing tools such as leaf gas exchange systems to quantify these traits and inform breeding decisions. If you can measure stomatal conductance and water use efficiency in real time, you can start selecting or engineering crops that do more with less.

👉 Bottom line: Improving yield isn’t just about adding more inputs, it’s about optimizing how plants use them. Start with the stomata.

If you want to dive deeper into this topic, follow the link below:
🔗: https://cid-inc.com/blog/how-do-stomatal-traits-and-transpiration-efficiency-impact-crop-yield/

06/20/2025

Did you know? Canopy cover isn’t just shade, it’s climate control for ecosystems.

Riparian canopies (the trees and vegetation along rivers and streams) do way more than provide a cool spot. According to researchers, these leafy layers:

✅ Stabilize stream banks
✅ Filter out pollutants
✅ Regulate water temperature
✅ Support critical wildlife habitats

Basically, they act like nature’s air conditioner and water filter.

Understanding and measuring canopy structure helps ecologists, conservationists, and ag scientists protect fragile ecosystems, and tools like the Plant Canopy Imager make that fieldwork faster and more precise.

🌿 The more we know about canopy cover, the better we can manage land, water, and climate resilience.

06/18/2025

If your roots are stressed, your yields are toast.

Turns out, that’s more than a metaphor; it’s measurable.

New research from UF shows citrus trees hit by HLB suffer way more when irrigated with high-bicarbonate water. We’re talking up to 70% root loss and 20% yield decline, before symptoms even show up.

The fix? Lowering soil pH.

By acidifying irrigation water and applying elemental sulfur, researchers restored root density, boosted nutrient uptake (especially Ca, Mg, Mn, and Zn), and increased yields by 40% or more.

They tracked this in real-time using the CI-600 Root Imager, a tool that made underground recovery visible without the need to dig up trees.

Why it matters:
Whatever your ag role, grower, advisor, tech, or policy, this study proves water chemistry and soil pH are critical control points for yield and resilience. Don’t ignore your irrigation inputs.

✅ Have you tested your water’s bicarbonate levels?

Link to the full study: https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9110746

06/17/2025

We’re Bringing Field-Ready Tech to New Orleans!

We will be attending the ASHS 2025 Annual Conference (July 28–August 1) and demonstrating how we bring lab-quality data into the field. Think portable root imagers, canopy scanners, handheld photosynthesis systems, leaf spectrometers…and more.

🔍 Test-drive our CI‑600/602 root imagers, scan light spectra with the CI‑710s, or try out the CI‑340 for real-time photosynthesis readings—all rugged, precise, and designed to improve your research in greenhouses or open fields.

Will you be attending? Drop a comment below or DM us—let’s plan to meet!

06/12/2025

Plants can talk; you just need the right tool to listen. 🌿🔊

Ever wonder how efficiently a plant turns light into energy in real-time?

The CI-340 makes it possible to measure gas exchange on the go—tracking CO₂ uptake, stomatal conductance, and more, without needing to uproot the plant or your entire setup!

06/11/2025

Greenhouse crops may be drinking more than they need.

New research from Utah State University shows that reducing light levels in greenhouses can cut water use by up to 36% per plant, without delaying flowering or reducing visual quality in petunia and geranium.

📉 Moderate light (DLI of 4.9–6.9 mol·m⁻²·d⁻¹) gave the best water efficiency, saving liters per plant while maintaining commercial standards.

🧪 Using the CI-710s leaf spectrometer, researchers tracked chlorophyll and canopy health, proving that plants stayed healthy even with lower light and less water.

✅ What it means for you: Less light can mean less water and lower costs, without compromising product. Whether you manage crops, advise growers, or design growing systems, this kind of insight can shape smarter decisions.

🔁 Follow us every Wednesday for research you can use.

Full Study: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114188

06/10/2025

Ever thought your crop’s leaf shape could save water? 🌿💧

It turns out that tweaking plant architecture, such as looser canopies and flat leaves, can cool crops, reduce soil evaporation, and boost water-use efficiency without harming yield. 🤯

As droughts get worse, this might be the key to growing more with less.

🔍 Researchers are now digging deeper into how plant structure drives population-level transpiration. Find out more about their projects here:

06/05/2025

🌵Did you know? Soil under desert plant canopies can have 3–4x more organic carbon than open areas just a few feet away.

That patchy shrub? It's not just surviving, it's building a mini-ecosystem that boosts fertility, supports microbes, and retains water.

Want to know how patchy vegetation shapes desert ecosystems and urban climates? Read the full article to learn why even a single shrub can change everything. 🌿👇

🔗: https://cid-inc.com/blog/how-does-canopy-cover-in-deserts-impact-soil-biodiversity-and-urban-climates/

06/04/2025

What if changing where you place your lights could make your yields more consistent and more profitable?

A new study in medicinal cannabis found that adding light inside the canopy (not just above it) increased flower yields by up to 30% and cut variability in THC and terpene content by over 50%.

Researchers used the CI-710s spectrometer to track photosynthetic health, pinpointing when lower leaves stopped contributing their share, which helped determine when extra light became less cost-effective.

🔁 The takeaway? It’s not just about how much light you use; it’s where and when you use it.

Whether you're in operations, tech, or plant science, this is the kind of strategy shift that applies across crops and roles.

Full study: https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14101469

06/03/2025

Visual cues aren't cutting it anymore—growers are shifting to dry matter (DM) and NIR tools to determine mango ripeness. 🥭

Why? Because relying on color or firmness leads to inconsistent quality and postharvest losses. DM, measured via non-destructive NIR spectroscopy, is emerging as the most reliable maturity index, now even used in the field across global mango industries.

That’s just one highlight in this week’s newsletter.

Also inside:
🔹 Light interception in blueberries
🔹 Bruising thresholds for harvest timing
🔹 Root traits for drought resilience
🔹 Desert canopy effects on soil and climate

📩 Full breakdown here: [Insert link]