Research
Dominic Williams joined James Hutton Limited in 2015 as part of a project developing a field based hyperspectral imaging platform for use in soft fruit industry. They have been responsible for the development of imaging techniques, image analysis methods and interpretation of the data from such a platform. The main focus of their research has been using hyperspectral imaging to help detect and understand below ground stress in raspberry and blueberry crops. Work has also been carried out investigating sources of yield instability in cherry and blueberry crops. This has involved both the use of hyperspectral imaging to monitor vegetative growth and also the use of timelapse cameras and novel image analysis techniques to detect plant pollinator interactions.
Dominic has been primarily involved in research on Scottish fruit crops but has carried out research on all the major crop groups that the Institute carries out research on.
In 2021 Dominic moved from James Hutton Limited to the James Hutton Institute. He is involved in ongoing research projects developing phenotyping tools and understanding the link between hyperspectral imaging responses and underlying plant genetics.