Text from your plant: I’m thirsty!

Washington: Israeli scientists have developed a new device that enables plants to send a text message when they need a drink.
According to a report by Fox News, Israel agricultural ministry plant physiologist Eran Raveh and his earth-scientist partner Arie Nadler spent seven years perfecting the hammer-shaped sensor that gauges moisture levels in plants and trees and sends real-time alerts to mobile phones or computers when water levels are low.
“The idea behind creating the sensor was to cut irrigation costs by up to 50%,” Fox News quoted Raveh as saying. The sensor helps cut water usage and avoid unnecessary and damaging over-irrigation by providing accurate waterlevel feedback.
“With this sensor, the level of irrigation, and primarily its timing, will be controlled by the farmers themselves,” Nadler said.
According to the scientists, farmers check no fewer than 26 points in soil surrounding a plant to monitor and gauge moisture levels. The sensor, operating on an electrical conductivity principal, continuously measures and collects waterlevel data via a series of metallic nails inserted into plant stems.
When water levels drop, electric activity halts, and a text message or email automatically goes out to someone who can turn on the spigot. The notification mode works on a wireless principal similar to walkie-talkie communication.
Sensors placed in an orchard or nursery are connected to a central device within a home or nerve center in a grove, and from that point, messages are transferred out to the end user’s mobile phone or computer. “What’s great about our sensor is that it’s highly accurate without being prohibitively expensive,” Raveh explained. At $250 for a 5,000-tree orchard — versus $12,000 for a similar high-tech probe — the Israeli scientists say price and accuracy set them apart.

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