Electrically conductive soil boosts growth by 50% in plants

Can eSoil spark agricultural innovation?

Electrically Conductive eSoil | Sejal Sharma |

IMAGE: Researchers connect the eSoil to a low power source for stimulating plant growth

Scientists at Linköping University have created a special electrically conductive “soil” for growing plants without traditional soil, using a method called hydroponics. 

Hydroponics is the technique of growing plants using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil. This approach minimizes water consumption appreciably and retains all essential nutrients within the system, a feat unattainable in conventional agricultural practices.

Hydroponics is also used in vertical farming to grow lettuce, herbs, and other vegetables.

They named it eSoil

This soil, which the researchers named eSoil, conducts electricity and is designed specifically for hydroponic farming. Their experiments found that barley plants grown in this electrically conductive soil grew 50% more in just 15 days when their roots were given an electric boost.

“In this way, we can get seedlings to grow faster with less resources,” said Professor Eleni Starvrinidou, first author of the study and associate professor at Linköping University. 

“We don’t yet know how it actually works, which biological mechanisms that are involved. What we have found is that seedlings process nitrogen more effectively, but it’s not clear yet how the electrical stimulation impacts this process,” she added.

The researchers explained that in hydroponics, people often use mineral wool to grow plants, but it’s not good for the environment and takes a lot of energy. 

Whereas, eSoil is made up of cellulose and a conductive polymer. This mix is not new, but it’s the first time it’s used for growing plants this way.

Before, researchers used high voltage to help plants grow, but eSoil uses very little energy and is safe. The scientists think this study will lead to more research on hydroponics.

Pointing out that currently, the world is facing a double whammy of a growing population and climate change, Professor Eleni Stavrinidou, leader of the Electronic Plants group, said that “it’s clear that we won’t be able to cover the food demands of the planet with only the already existing agricultural methods. 

“But with hydroponics we can grow food also in urban environments in very controlled settings,” she added.

While it may not solve all food problems, it can help in places with little space for farming and tough weather conditions.

The study was published in the PNAS journal.

Study abstract:

Active hydroponic substrates that stimulate on demand the plant growth have not been demonstrated so far. Here, we developed the eSoil, a low-power bioelectronic growth scaffold that can provide electrical stimulation to the plants’ root system and growth environment in hydroponics settings. eSoil’s active material is an organic mixed ionic electronic conductor while its main structural component is cellulose, the most abundant biopolymer. We demonstrate that barley seedlings that are widely used for fodder grow within the eSoil with the root system integrated within its porous matrix. Simply by polarizing the eSoil, seedling growth is accelerated resulting in increase of dry weight on average by 50% after 15 d of growth. The effect is evident both on root and shoot development and occurs during the growth period after the stimulation. The stimulated plants reduce and assimilate NO3− more efficiently than controls, a finding that may have implications on minimizing fertilizer use. However, more studies are required to provide a mechanistic understanding of the physical and biological processes involved. eSoil opens the pathway for the development of active hydroponic scaffolds that may increase crop yield in a sustainable manner.

Original Article: https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/electrically-conductive-soil-boosts-growth-by-50-in-plants

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