In mid-November, the world population exceeded 8 billion; this was three times the figure in the mid-20th century. At the same time climate change It is causing more and more problems in food production. Scientists have been warning for years available methods agricultural It is impossible to meet food demand. Therefore, they look for alternatives that will increase efficiency.
A team of researchers from Linköping University in Sweden, bioelectronics ‘ground’in the name ‘eToprak‘, HE Provides electrical stimulation to the roots and surroundings of plants through hydroponics.
The result is amazing: The growth of barley seedlings increases by an average of 50% as dry weight increases 15 days after electrical stimulation.
The improvement in growth is evident for both roots and shoots and occurs during the growth period after electrical stimulation; This means that it not only produces an immediate effect, but also triggers processes that eventually change the development of the plant.
This shows The beneficial effect can be achieved with the first treatment without the need for continuous stimulation. throughout the growth of the plant.
eSoil soil, unlike the usual hydroponic crops (with mineral solutions as substrate), consumes less energy and its main structural component celluloseThe most abundant polymer, mixed with another conductive polymer called PEDOT.
This combination is not actually new, but it is the first time it has been used to grow plants and create an interface to them in this way.
Low consumption device
In hydroponic growing, plants grow without soil, so they only need water, nutrients, and something their roots can attach to—a substrate..
This is a system is off This circulates water so each seedling gets exactly the nutrients it needs. This means very little water is needed and all nutrients remain in the system; This is not possible in traditional agriculture.
Hydroponics is used to grow vegetables, green leafy vegetables and fodder. Areas with limited arable land, poor soil quality, and adverse environmental conditions can benefit from this type of food production.
Soilless farming allows food to be grown in urban areas According to Eleni Stavrinidou, professor at Linköping University’s Organic Electronics Laboratory and leader of the Electronic Facilities group, in highly controlled environments.
The hydroponic system is also Vertical cultivation in large towers To maximize space efficiency. Crops currently grown this way include lettuce, herbs, and some vegetables. Grains are not generally grown hydroponically except for use as feed.
“There are many issues that need to be taken into account for hydroponics with eSoil to be suitable for large-scale applications in indoor agriculture. One of the advantages of our approach compared to other studies is: eSoil is a low-consumption device and, in principle, can operate on photovoltaic energy.“, the report states.
Increase crop yield
This study paves the way for the use physical stimuli It provides a platform to improve plant growth, but also to better understand plant responses to electric field and further develop hydroponic farming.
“Since barley is also used as feed, higher biomass in the early plant age will allow more raw materials to be fed with the same resources. We hope that our study will open a broad avenue of research on this subject.” science based solutions active soilless scaffolding materials Increase crop yield smartly and sustainably“add scientists.
However, the researchers underline that more studies are needed to confirm, for example, whether this method works in other plant species. It is unknown how this system actually works and what biological mechanisms come into play.
Previous research has used high voltage to stimulate the roots. The advantage of the Linköping researchers’ eSoil ‘soil’ is that it has very low energy consumption and does not pose a high voltage hazard..
“We cannot say that hydroponics will solve the problem of food security, but it can certainly help, especially in regions with scarce arable land and harsh environmental conditions,” says Stavrinidou.
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2304135120
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