A hybrid multifunctional physicochemical sensor suite for continuous monitoring of crop health

Abstract

Abstract This work reports a first-of-its-kind hybrid wearable physicochemical sensor suite that we call PlantFit for simultaneous measurement of two key phytohormones, salicylic acid, and ethylene, along with vapor pressure deficit and radial growth of stem in live plants. The sensors are developed using a low-cost and roll-to-roll screen printing technology. A single integrated flexible patch that contains temperature, humidity, salicylic acid, and ethylene sensors, is installed on the leaves of live plants. The strain sensor with in-built pressure correction capability is wrapped around the plant stem to provide pressure-compensated stem diameter measurements. The sensors provide real-time information on plant health under different amounts of water stress conditions. The sensor suite is installed on bell pepper plants for 40 days and measurements of salicylic acid, ethylene, temperature, humidity, and stem diameter are recorded daily. In addition, sensors are installed on different parts of the same plant to investigate the spatiotemporal dynamics of water transport and phytohormone responses. Subsequent correlation and principal component analyses demonstrate the strong association between hormone levels, vapor pressure deficit, and water transport in the plant. Our findings suggest that the mass deployment of PlantFit in agricultural settings will aid growers in detecting water stress/deficiency early and in implementing early intervention measures to reduce stress-induced yield decline.

Plant phenotyping relevance

植物の生理状態と成長を連続取得するウェアラブルセンサー群を開発し、実植物で検証・適用しているため、フェノタイピング手法が中心である。

Code and data availability

The paper's plant-phenotyping measurements (40 days of SA, ethylene, VPD, and stem diameter data from bell pepper plants) and MATLAB analysis code (Code S1–S3) are not deposited in any public repository. The authors explicitly state the datasets are withheld due to a pending patent and available only on request; theMAT

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