Device detects plant stress- recent research has brought a wave of joy for farmers globally. To maximize crop production and upgrade its quality, researchers at the SMART, i.e. Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology in collaboration with the TLL (Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory) have developed a portable device. A portable optical device that detects plant stress well in advance. Let’s know more about it.
Raman Leaf-Clip-device detects plants stress
The device developed is an optical sensor and simply monitors a plant’s health. So, as to obtain a good crop yield it is imperative to have a deeper insight into a plant’s holistic health. Thus, to track a plant’s health in real-time at various stages, researchers successfully functionalized an optical tool known as the Raman leaf-clip. Now, the food insecurity that shot up rapidly in recent times is a top burning issue and needs immediate mitigation. And to resolve such insecurities, a technology being able to timely gauge the plant’s health status and its deficiencies, was the clamoring need. Thus, Raman Leaf-Clip is specifically portable and useful in early detection of nitrogen deficiency, which is an important factor of leaf’s early withering away.
Scientific Report
The portable device is a work developed in the Disruptive and Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision or the DiSTAP Interdisciplinary Research Group. And its research paper is published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Phenotype-related stress
Professor Rajeev Ram at the MIT’s Electrical and Computer Science Department reveals that knowing nitrogen deficiency before-hand can help have huge crop loss. The Raman Leaf-Clip is a multifaceted device that also detects phenotype-related conditions such as drought, heat and cold stress, etc. in plants. Thus this portable device detects plant stress as well other range of stresses. And will prove immensely helpful for farmers in the field use.
Effect of Raman Leaf-Clip on Environment
The developers of the Raman Leaf-Clip portable device that detects plant stress, claim that it is an environment-friendly device. And on one hand, it helps farmers to shoot up the crop yield. It also ensures the least negative impact on the nearby surroundings, as it helps reduce the nitrogen overflow into the waters. This in turn reduces the aquatic pollution. Professor Nam-Hai Chua, a co-lead principal investigator at DiSTAP says that it shall be an asset for farmers as far as the low-cost vegetable production is concerned. Not only this, but it is also expected to help crops become more climate-resilient when the research is further extended.
A little about SMART, CREATE, and NRF
The MIT in alliance with the NRF (National Research Foundation), Singapore in 2007 erected SMART. SMART was the first set-up that NRF created to cater to the exchange of research and development between MIT and Singapore. It does innovation in fields like Antimicrobial Resistance, critical analysis for manufacturing personalized medicine. And also DiSTAP, Future Urban Mobility, and low energy electronic systems. While CREATE is the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise Program.
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Conclusion:
A portable device detects plant stress or the Raman Leaf-Clip device is the latest state-of-the-art technology. It is ready to revolutionalize the crop production and have a good health check of plants in real-time.
