27-Sep-2021 | Market Research Store
Soil health has been considered a crucial factor in determining crop yield. The major concern for many farmers and researchers is that no such commercial and straightforward technique has been available so far. But now, with the assistance of farmers’extensive agricultural knowledge, a team of researchers has developed a noveltechnique by deeply understanding the physical and chemical properties of the fertile land.
Brandi Schottel, Associate Program Director at NSF,saidthatsoil health is one of the leading concernsin terms of meeting the burgeoning need of food production for the inevitably growing population across the globe. As per the report published in the journal Electrochemical Society, a group of researchers at Washington State University in collaboration with the US National Science Foundation has discovered a simple and effective test through which farmers would get acquainted with the information about thehealth of their farm soil.
The research team fabricated a sensor that is based on electrochemical detection technology. This sensor transmitssignals to the microbes present in the aquatic environment. Those signals are further deflected to the soil samples and on that basis the soil test reports are generated.The sensor-based soil test provides vital information about soil indicators and microbe metabolism. Maren Friesen, the co-author of the research, mentioned that generally, soil productivity depends upon the nature of microbial content. He said that thehigh nutritional value and the increased ability of a specific soil to resist the growth of pathogenic microorganismsaredue to thepresence of healthy microbes in the soil. The microbial activity enhances soil fertility and boosts nutritional value.
Haluk Beneyal, another co-author of the research,stated that these sensors woulddepict the soil quality and productivity rate. The researchers are considering that this electrochemical sensor is one of the greatest inventions in the agricultural sector.
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