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Soil, the skin of the Earth, is of great importance. It includes a mixture of minerals, organic matter, air, water and living creatures, and is the foundation for terrestrial life. Humanity depends on soil for many things, including food production and climate regulation. Impacts of global environmental change and associated soil ecosystem degradation need to be understood and reversed.

In NRC Wetenschap van zaterdag 15 oktober is een reportage te lezen van journalist Laura Wismans over de sensoren die de onderzoekers van het samenwerkingsprogramma 4TU.Plantenna afgelopen zomer in de tomatenkas van Delphy hebben getest.

Last summer, researchers from 4TU Plantenna tested several sensors that can measure drought stress in plants in detail. The sensors’ aim is to detect at an early stage when plants are experiencing critical stress, but also to what extent they can recover after a drought period. The ultimate goal is to use the new sensors for a "stress-alert" system, which will help farmers and growers better manage their crops during stress conditions, such as a heat wave or future water scarcity.

With the start of the Plantenna research program, several sensing-based projects emerged. One of these was the development of a new ultrasound sensor for detecting plant stress inside the plant. Satadal Dutta and Gerard Verbiest’s promising results using this sensing method culminated in a paper and a patent. Now, Berend and Thijs have the task to bring this technology to market with their start-up Plense Technologies.

Using a plant to increase the radiation efficiency of an antenna, it seemed like science fiction until recently. However, a simulation study including an Antenna Booster, a simple printed circuit board (PCB) and a basic leaf model showed that the use of the plant itself as an antenna might actually be closer to reality than we think.

Frost that destroys the flowers buds of fruit trees is a recurring problem with severe damage to fruit production. In order to better understand when and where the flower buds are at risk and how to mitigate the damage, the Fruit frost project was started (Clarity on Fruitfrost (4tu.nl)).

How can we visualize a plant from within to diagnose the plant's health without cutting into its tissue? The solution can be found in ultra-high field MRI scanners; two to nine times stronger than hospital MRI scanners.

Authors: Satadal Dutta and Gerard Verbiest, Department of Precision and Microsystems Engineering, Delft University of Technology.

In the last decade we have witnessed exponential growth in wireless communications. Number of connected devices exceed the number of people on earth and the data rates can be as high as 1GB/s. The next wave in wireless technology will be about sensing the environment. 

Despite the availability of various monitoring mechanisms such as measuring temperature, water content, soil nutrients, very little is leveraged for sensing applications in the agriculture and horticultural sectors. 

Bas van de Wiel en Marie-Claire ten Veldhuis (Plantenna/ TU Delft) doen metingen in Zeeuwse boomgaard

As hydrologists we are interested in the interaction between plans and the water cycle. We traditionally look at plant transpiration,  the interception of precipitation by leaves, or detection vegetation water stress. However, new global environmental challenges also come with new roles for plants.

What hydrology students learned about tomato plants’ drinking habits.

Wireless engineering with plants during Corona. How Plantenna researchers moved from high tech equipment to plastic bottles.

One of the innovative projects within the Plantenna program is the project in which researchers listen to the signals from plants with a special microphone.