Submission
Monday, 17 April 2023 15:05:44
PestNet
Grahame Jackson posted a new submission ‘Multifunctional electronic patch offers early detection of plant diseases, other crop threats’
Submission
Multifunctional electronic patch offers early detection of plant diseases, other crop threats
Phys.Org
by Matt Shipman, North Carolina State University
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed an electronic patch that can be applied to the leaves of plants to monitor crops for different pathogens—such as viral and fungal infections—and stresses such as drought or salinity. In testing, the researchers found the patch was able to detect a viral infection in tomatoes more than a week before growers would be able to detect any visible symptoms of disease.
“This is important because the earlier growers can identify plant diseases or fungal infections, the better able they will be to limit the spread of the disease and preserve their crop,” says Qingshan Wei, corresponding author of a paper on the work and an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at NC State. “In addition, the more quickly growers can identify abiotic stresses, such as irrigation water contaminated by saltwater intrusion, the better able they will be to address relevant challenges and improve crop yield.”
The paper, “Abaxial leaf surface-mounted multimodal wearable sensor for continuous plant physiology monitoring,” is published April 12 in the open-access journal Science Advances.
Global Plant Protection News 
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