Crops can now command water from farmers, courtesy RFID

Filed in archive Implementation on July 23, 2007

Plants don't have the reflexes like humans and cannot communicate if they require something but this will now be possible all thanks to RFID. Scientists are working on a clip on sensor which uses RFID and alerts the farmer in case the plant requires water and can even start the irrigation systems automatically. The clip on sensor is of the size of a fly wing and is expected to bring savings for farmers in form of time and money. Dr Hans Seelig who is a research associate at the University of Colorado at the Boulder's BioServe Space Technologies Center stated that it would result in water saving to the tune of 30 to 40%.

Up till now the farmers were dependant on physical changes rather than chemical changes which occur quite late in case of a plant. As of now the prototype uses wires but the team of researchers is working towards using RFID. The sensor is affixed permanently to the leaf during the growing season for keeping a tab on the moisture content and chemical signatures so as to find out when the plant is under water stress. Earlier the farmers had to water their field everyday but now with this sensor system they would be required to water their fields only after thirty to forty hours. It seems nice to hear that after human beings RFID has also come to the rescue of plants.