Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Aviv 6997801, Israel.
TAU/TIET Food Security Centre of Excellence, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala 147004, India.
Sensors (Basel). 2023 Jun 26;23(13):5914. doi: 10.3390/s23135914.
Precision agriculture is crucial for ensuring food security in a growing global population. Nutrients, their presence, concentration, and effectiveness, are key components in data-driven agriculture. Assessing macro and micro-nutrients, as well as factors such as water and pH, helps determine soil fertility, which is vital for supporting healthy plant growth and high crop yields. Insufficient soil nutrient assessment during continuous cropping can threaten long-term agricultural viability. Soil nutrients need to be measured and replenished after each harvest for optimal yield. However, existing soil testing procedures are expensive and time-consuming. The proposed research aims to assess soil nutrient levels, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, to provide critical information and guidance on restoring optimal soil fertility. In this research, a novel chip-level colorimeter is fabricated to detect the N and P elements of soil onto a handheld colorimeter or spectrophotometer. Chemical reaction with soil solution generates color in the presence of nutrients, which are then quantitatively measured using sensors. The test samples are collected from various farmlands, and the results are validated with laboratory analysis of samples using spectrophotometers used in laboratories. ANOVA test has been performed in which F value > 1 in our study indicates statistically significant differences between the group means. The alternate hypothesis, which proposes the presence of significant differences between the groups, is supported by the data. The device created in this paper has crucial potential in terms of environmental and biological applications.
精准农业对于确保不断增长的全球人口的粮食安全至关重要。营养物质及其存在、浓度和有效性是数据驱动型农业的关键组成部分。评估宏量和微量营养素,以及水和 pH 等因素,有助于确定土壤肥力,这对于支持健康的植物生长和高作物产量至关重要。在连续种植过程中,对土壤养分的评估不足可能会威胁到农业的长期可持续性。每次收获后都需要测量和补充土壤养分,以实现最佳产量。然而,现有的土壤测试程序既昂贵又耗时。本研究旨在评估土壤养分水平,特别是氮和磷浓度,为恢复最佳土壤肥力提供关键信息和指导。在这项研究中,我们制造了一种新型的芯片级比色计,用于在手持式比色计或分光光度计上检测土壤中的 N 和 P 元素。在存在养分的情况下,与土壤溶液发生化学反应会产生颜色,然后使用传感器对其进行定量测量。测试样品取自不同的农田,并用实验室中使用的分光光度计对实验室分析的样品进行验证。在我们的研究中,进行了方差分析,其中 F 值>1 表明组均值之间存在统计学上的显著差异。该数据支持假设检验中的备择假设,即组之间存在显著差异。本文所创建的设备在环境和生物应用方面具有重要的潜力。