With new sensors, farmers could use real-time information to manage crop conditions before visible signs of plant stress appear.
With new sensors, farmers could use real-time information to manage crop conditions before visible signs of plant stress appear.
A smartwatch can tell us the level of oxygen in our blood, when our sleep is restless, or the number of steps we take in a day. Now imagine that kind of tracking ability for plants.
By the time farmers see curling leaves or stunted growth in their fields, their crops may already have spent days under stress. A new innovation in plant “wearable” sensors aims to catch those distress signals earlier—before the plant visibly suffers, allowing farmers to respond and help their crops thrive.
In a recent study, researchers created tiny tattoo-like sensors that adhere to leaf surfaces and a stretchable band that wraps around stems. Together, they track two vital signs of plant life—the temperature and humidity beneath the leaf’s surface, and whether the stem is still growing. Even more striking, the system runs without an external battery, scavenging power from moisture evaporating from the plant itself.
Read More: Tufts University
Image: “The leaf sensor is more of an early warning system showing how the plant is responding in the moment, before visible signs appear,” said Nafize Hossain. (Credit: Nafize Hossain)
