AgDaily
Washington State University researchers have developed a way to assess soil health by measuring the electric current produced by its tiniest microbes.
The team used a probe originally developed to measure the electrochemical signal of microbes in aquatic environments, and tested it on healthy and unhealthy soil samples to measure microbial metabolism and other indicators of soil health. This proof-of-concept research, published in Journal of Electrochemical Society, could someday lead to a simple, real-time test for farmers to determine whether soil is productive.
“Soil underpins all the food we eat, and most of it is degraded worldwide,” said Maren Friesen, an associate professor in the Departments of Plant Pathology and Crop and Soil Sciences and a co-author on the study. “One of the biggest barriers to improving soils is not being able to have rapid, real-time measurement to develop appropriate management strategies for them. This sensor has the potential to be able to do real-time measurements not just of the structure of the soil but how it’s actually functioning. It would be a huge advance in the field.”