By Jeff Mulhollem
Soil salinity is a critical concern in agriculture when excessive soluble salts restrict a plant’s water uptake, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, hindering crop growth and reducing yields on roughly 30% of U.S. irrigated land. Caused by irrigation, poor drainage or saltwater intrusion, soil salinity impacts soil structure, reduces fertility and causes economic losses. To help growers identify and mitigate salt stress, in a proof-of-concept study, a team led by Penn State researchers built a low-cost sensor system that detects signals released by plants in trouble.
The sensor works by detecting specific gases, called volatile organic compounds, emitted by plants. The researchers reported that not only do salt-stressed plants give off different gas patterns than unstressed plants, but that their low-cost sensor system can detect the difference. They reported their findings in IEEE Sensors Journal.
“The low-cost sensor system we developed detects volatile organic compounds released by plants when stressed — think of it like an electronic nose for crops that ‘smells’ gases put off by plants in distress and can warn farmers of salt stress early, before visible damage occurs,” said co-author Francesco Di Gioia, Penn State associate professor of vegetable crop science. “Salinity stress is a major issue in many regions and coastal areas around the world, and most vegetable crops are highly susceptible to the accumulation of salts like sodium chloride, which hinder nutrient uptake and decrease productivity.”
Source : psu.edu