Plant Water Sensor Will Save Farmers Millions

An interesting new invention that allows crops of potatoes and corn to tell farmers that they are in need of a drink will be of great interested to those working in agriculture, reports the UPI.

The thirst signal invention for crops not only tells farmers that their crops need a drink it will also indicate how much water is needed.

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder help to create the commercial version of the crop thirst sensor. Special sensors were designed to keep track of the crops leaf thickness and water loss. The sensor then sends messages wirelessly to a computer that can then tell irrigation systems to water the plants. The idea was originally developed for long space trips by NASA as a way to conserve water for plants growing on board. Now the University of Colorado has made their own adaptations that can be used right here on Earth.

This new technology is thought to be very eco friendly, as plants will now only receive the amount of water they need. This means that the amount of water being used is reduced and millions of dollars could be saved each year.

A Colorado company, AgriHouse, has been lucky enough to secure the rights to produce the thirst sensing technology. AgriHouse will be making the tiny postage stamp sized sensor that gets attached to the leaves of the plants.

According to the president of AgriHouse, Richard Stoner, this new technology is far more accurate than what is currently available to detect whether or not plants need water. Current sensors are placed in the soil to detect the amount of moisture present, but these can be inaccurate.

The inventor of the plant water sensor, Research Associate Hans-Dieter Seeling, told the UPI, "This device is very precise, and will allow a plant to receive just the right amount of water. If a plant can tell the water valve when to open and when to close, farmers are going to save a lot of money."

AgriHouse the company responsible for producing the sensor for commercial use have called the produce in their press release, "The world's first plant intelligent interface." The company have trademarked the phrase 'I'm Thirsty' for this new product.

According to the AgiHouse press release, the thirst sensor does a number of things. It smartly reads a plants moisture levels, does not interfere with a plants growth, improves water feeding, waters plants at their demand, turns irrigation equipment on and off and keeps track of a plants health. As a result of these features the company says that the produce will reduce the amount of water used and prevent plants from receiving to much water.

Sources
Roland Piquepaille talks about the new plant sensors http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=606

UPI Plants tell farmers when thirsty article published by Science Daily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20070618-17501200-bc-us-cropthirst.xml

Press Release by maker of plant sensor AgriHouse http://www.biocontrols.com/Leafsensor.htm