These Tiny, Lightweight Gadgets Could Mean Huge Savings For Farmers

April 22, 2010 - PRLog -- With funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), AgriHouse has developed a leaf sensor that is enabling plants to conserve fresh water on agricultural land.

The clear plastic sensor measures about an inch by a quarter of an inch; light enough to fit on almost any leaf.

Here's how it works: When a plant starts drying out, its leaves contract. That change can be measured in electrical voltage. The sensor transmits those voltage changes to a cell phone, or computer, so a farmer can use the data to turn irrigation equipment on or off.

So before even the keenest eye of a farmer or a florist might notice a plant starting to wilt, the sensor can transmit a message to "send water."

Measuring the water deficit stress in a plant did not begin as an idea for earthly plants. The technology was first developed by aerospace engineers and the doctoral research work of Hans-Dieter Seelig of the University of Colorado at Boulder's BioServe Space Technologies Center.

"The original inventors were looking at [the sensor] as a device to go to Mars, where the astronauts would have to spend over 70 percent to 80 percent of their waking hours farming," explains Stoner. "They’ll need devices that would be in the greenhouses on Mars that would free up their time."

Full online  video Interview with Richard Stoner, Founder & Pres., AgriHouse Inc on National Science Foundation's Special Report web site: http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/science_nation/in...

For more information about the AgriHouse' Leaf Sensor technology visit http://www.LeafSensor.com or http://www.AgriHouse.com

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AgriHouse a leading edge biotech company offering cutting edge technology to address a growing world. AgriHouse is a NASA and NSF sponsored and funded company located outside of Denver, Colorado, USA.