New leaf sensor talks to farmers about water needs
By Laurie DiBattista, Colorado NPS Connection associate editor
Remember Audrey II, the wilting plant in the musical Little Shop of Horrors that cries out to be fed?
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| Photo provided by AgriHouse |
That scenario won’t be too far-fetched if a new invention works as planned. Crops will be able to communicate their needs to farmers via tiny sensors clipped to plant leaves.
The device is designed to alert farmers of any stressed crops by providing quantitative analysis of water content in the plants. The leaf sensor – less than one-tenth the size of a postage stamp – consists of an integrated-circuit chip that collects and stores information about turgidity level and lack of water. The information is sent wirelessly to computers.
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| Photo provided by AgriHouse |
The University of Colorado at Boulder invention was optioned last year to AgriHouse Inc., a Berthoud, Colo., high-tech company. The technology is largely based on the doctoral thesis of research associate Hans-Dieter Seelig at CU-Boulder’s BioServe Space Technology Center.
“The leaf sensor is being tested in Colorado on potatoes, sugar beets and beans, with good results,” said Richard Stoner, AgriHouse founder and president. Just how much water will be saved depends on the crop. “We know that with potatoes we can reduce water input by 23 percent to 33 percent.”
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| Photo provided by AgriHouse |
By watering only when the plants say they’re thirsty, runoff should be reduced so that less fertilizer and pesticides get carried into nearby rivers, lakes and streams.
Though there is already technology such as soil moisture sensors that assess a crop’s water needs, Stoner has said they don’t always accurately report plant and field conditions.
He anticipates the leaf sensors will be on the market in late summer.