The phytohormones are considered key stress signaling molecules in plants. As a result, there occurs a progressive variation in the levels of phytohormones, which circulate throughout the plant via the xylem and phloem, and thus, the levels of phytohormones can serve as early signals of plant stress 4. These environmental stresses induce time-dependent biochemical changes, including reduced transpiration and systemic oxidative stress. Plants are subjected to biotic (such as microbes, herbivores, invasive plants, and pests attack) and abiotic (drought, flood, salinity, extreme heat/cold, and nutrient deficiencies) stresses throughout their lifecycle 2, 3. The most promising strategy to produce enough food for humans and livestock in the future is to make farms more efficient, profitable, and sustainable in their use of nonrenewable resources. The world population is estimated to reach 11.2 billion by 2100, while the total cultivable land will not change significantly 1. 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. Subsequent correlation and principal component analyses demonstrate the strong association between hormone levels, vapor pressure deficit, and water transport in the plant. In addition, sensors are installed on different parts of the same plant to investigate the spatiotemporal dynamics of water transport and phytohormone responses. 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. The sensors provide real-time information on plant health under different amounts of water stress conditions. The strain sensor with in-built pressure correction capability is wrapped around the plant stem to provide pressure-compensated stem diameter measurements. A single integrated flexible patch that contains temperature, humidity, salicylic acid, and ethylene sensors, is installed on the leaves of live plants. The sensors are developed using a low-cost and roll-to-roll screen printing technology. 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.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |