Subsoil sensor
A sensor that monitors how effectively a plant takes up water and nutrients from the soil could help farmers grow drought-resistant crops within the next decade.
The device is being developed by researchers at Manchester University to identify plant varieties that are tolerant to future climate conditions. Based on electrical imaging techniques used in healthcare and manufacturing, the team have adapted the technology for use in the subsoil analysis of plant behaviour.
Principal investigator Dr Bruce Grieve, from the Syngenta Sensors University Innovation Centre, said: ‘If you can monitor a chemical plant for how well a pressure filter is operating, then you can apply the same technique to soil, which is effectively also a filter for water and nutrients. We’re hoping to create an image reconstruction of the water movement using a soft-field sensor to examine how different plants draw on their surrounding moisture.’
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