Assessing plant water status: Part 2 – Non‐destructive and remote sensing approaches

Abstract

Precise, real time and non‐destructive assessment of plant water status is important for advancing plant physiological understanding, optimizing water usage, improving crop resilience and supporting precision agriculture in the face of increasingly variable climatic conditions. Classical methods for measuring plant water status reviewed in Part 1 of this two‐part review have significant limitations for field level applications, providing only discrete, single‐point measurements and potentially altering plant physiology through destructive sampling. This second of a two‐part review synthesizes recent advances in non‐destructive approaches for measuring plant water status, evaluating their principles, applications and limitations. We review techniques such as ZIM‐probe, terahertz spectroscopic techniques, microwave remote sensing, infrared transmission sensor, microtensiometers, dendrometers and leaf thickness sensors, light detection and ranging (i.e. LiDAR), imaging spectroscopy, NMR relaxation, spectroscopy based on equivalent water thickness, spectral indices, derivative spectra, post‐continuum removal indicators, visible and near‐infrared spectroscopy, and infrared thermography. These emerging techniques facilitate high‐resolution, real‐time monitoring of water status across leaf, canopy and ecosystem scales. This comprehensive comparison provides guidance for selecting most appropriate technique based on experimental objectives, guiding applications ranging from single leaf to canopy scale ecosystem assessment. © 2026 The Author(s). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.