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Department of Engineering, ICT and Technologies for Energy and Transport Patent Title Sensor, system, and method to measure biochemical parameters in the plant lymph. Ref. CNR 10519 Assignee(s): CNR CNR Institute: IMEM Main inventor: Andrea Zappettini Countries: IT, PCT Priority date: 23/12/2016 Abstract Precision agriculture and smart agriculture require the use of sensors that can continuously monitor the health of a plant and share the relative data with an integrated system. The sensor developed by us continually analyzes the plant's lymph and therefore allows us to monitor its physiological state and to recognize at an early stage any biotic and abiotic c stresses. It is highly biocompatible, has already been integrated in trees and herbaceous plants and has been shown to provide a clear signal of water stress in tomatoes at an early stage. It therefore promises to be the most significant tool for optimizing water, fertilizer and pesticides. Background Precision agriculture and smart agriculture are based on a widespread use of sensors that are able to monitor every stage of agricultural production. Although many types of sensors are now on the market, none of them is able to provide direct quantitative data of the status of plant health on a continuous and non invasive basis. Technology The sensor consists of an electrochemical transistor made entirely on cotton thread and is therefore totally biocompatible and comes at a low cost. Furthermore the readout electronics is very simple and also cheap. Advantages and Applications The sensor is totally biocompatible and comes at a low cost. It ais possible monitor on a contonuous basis the physiological state of a plant and to recognize early biotic and abiotic stresses. It therefore provides the most significant data for the optimization of water resources, fertilizers and pesticides. Development stage The sensor has already been tested on tomatoes, wheat and grub screws. Biocompatibility has already been demonstrated. The sensor has proven to be able to give an early alarm of drought with regard to tomatoes. A low-cost electronics system that works in cells or greenhouses has already been developed. An electronic 59 reading that can also be used in open fields is under development.