max facts
Leaf Sensors Warn
of Water Shortage
MIT engineers have
created sensors that can
be printed onto plant leaves
and reveal when the plants are
experiencing a water shortage.
Researchers used an ink made
of carbon nanotubes, which conduct
electricity, dissolved in sodium dodecyl sulfate.
This was then printed across the plant’s stomata
to create electronic circuits. When the pores were
closed, the circuits were intact and the current could be
measured. When the pores opened, the circuits were broken
and the currents stopped flowing. By measuring this opening
and closing, the researchers found that they can detect when a
plant is experiencing water stress. They found that during normal
conditions, it took stomata about seven minutes to open after light
exposure and 53 minutes to close when darkness falls. However,
in dry conditions, the stomata took an average of 25 minutes to open
and 45 minutes to close. “This appears to be the earliest indicator of
drought that we have for agricultural applications,” says Michael Strano,
the Carbon P. Dubbs professor of chemical engineering at MIT.
—sciencedaily.com
House Panel Approves Urban Ag Bill
The House Special Committee on Food Security recently gave its nod
to the substitute bill promoting integrated urban agriculture to boost
the country’s food security. Party-list Rep. Orestes T. Salon of AGRI, one
of the principal authors of the proposed Integrated Urban Agriculture
Act, says the measure seeks to avert “a possible crisis brought about
by food insecurity.” Under the bill, an Office of Urban Agriculture (OUA)
would be established by the Department of Agriculture. The OUA would
formulate implementing guidelines, programs, and operating principles
consistent with government policies and the objectives of the measure.
The office would also study and make recommendations regarding
the impact of urban agriculture and vertical farming in metropolitan
communities, carry out the implementation of the law, and report to
Congress its findings and recommendations. The bill added the OUA
would develop the research agenda on urban agriculture in the country’s
metropolitan areas, in coordination with the departments of Science
and Technology, Environment and Natural Resources, and Health.
—businessmirror.com.ph
28
tapped in