UW–Madison engineers have developed low-cost sensors that allow for real-time, continuous monitoring of nitrate in soil types that are common in Wisconsin, according to a recent press release. These printed electrochemical sensors could enable farmers to make better-informed nutrient management decisions and reap economic benefits.
The researchers’ new sensors could also be used as an agricultural research tool to monitor nitrate leaching and help guide best practices for mitigating its harmful effects. Current methods for monitoring nitrate in the soil are laborious, expensive, and don’t provide real-time data.
The researchers detailed their advance on this project in a paper published in March in the journal Advanced Material Technologies.
In summer 2024, they plan to conduct further testing with their sensors by deploying 30 sensing rods in the soil at UW–Madison’s Hancock Agricultural Research Station and Arlington Agricultural Research Station.
The researchers are patenting their technology through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. UW–Madison co-authors on the paper include Kuan-Yu Chen, Aatresha Biswas, Shuohao Cai, and Jingyi Huang, a professor of soil science.
This research was supported by the USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Foundational Program , the National Science Foundation Signals in the Soil grant 2226568, and the UW–Madison Dairy Innovation Hub.
