Abstract

This thesis reports PlantFit: a research and development project that is intended to develop wearable sensors for plants. Plants are responsible for providing food, fiber, fuel, and fodder to the society. To overcome the problem of a limited land base, a more efficient farming approach needs to be developed, and thus precision farming is required. Precision farming would entail personalized healthcare in plants. When the plant is under any stress, the productivity declines. Plants release phytohormones, also known as early responders, in response to these stressors. The key crop phytohormones that respond to environmental stresses include salicylic acid (SA), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and ethylene (ET). While SA and IAA are liquid phytohormones, ethylene is a gaseous phytohormone. In this research, we have developed wearable sensors to detect SA, IAA, and ethylene phytohormones at different parts of plants such as leaf, stem, and fruit. The sensors are tested under different physical conditions, and it was found that the sensor response is reliable with a coefficient of variance of less than 5%. The developed sensor shows a high degree of sensitivity and selectivity. The sensor was deployed in live plants to measure hormone levels in real-time. The sensors will find a widespread use and will be useful in measuring plant stress early and in real-time, which will help farmers in taking immediate measures to reduce stress-induced yield decline. In addition, biologists can use the sensors to develop plant species that can cope with adverse environmental conditions such as drought and flood.

Date of publication

Fall 12-9-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Language

english

Persistent identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10950/4133

Committee members

Shawana Tabassum, Ph.D.,Prabha Sundaravadivel, Ph.D., Alwathiqbellah Ibrahim, Ph.D.

Degree

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering

Additional Files
Hossain - Thesis Final Approval Form.pdf (43 kB)
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