Zero standby power crop water-stress detector leading to the optimization of water usage and yield.

ABSTRACT: Agricultural sensors are powerful tools to optimize crop productivity while conserving natural resources. Here we report a crop water-stress detector based on a plasmonically-enhanced micromechanical photoswitch capable of detecting water content in leaves that is lower than a predetermined threshold without consuming electrical power when the leaf is healthy. The detection mechanism exploits the energy in a specific narrow-spectral band of solar radiation reflected off leaves that is strongly correlated to the water content in plants. This biosensor relies on a spectrally selective infrared plasmonic absorber and a thermally sensitive micro-cantilever to harvest the reflected solar energy and further produce a digitized wakeup-bit only when the monitored leaf is water-stressed. In particu

SUBMITTER: Risso A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9308807 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature