PFI-TT: Soil Nutrient and Moisture Monitoring Probe Sensors to Optimize Fertilizer and Water Use

这一创新技术转化伙伴关系(PFI-TT)项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是利用从新型传感器收集的数据来优化农业中的化肥和灌溉。这些传感器将在整个生长季节(最多四个月)持续监测土壤氮、盐分和水分。目前，农民通常不测量这些土壤参数，因为这需要他们乏味地将样本运回实验室进行昂贵的分析。这些传感器将提供一种低成本的现场方法来执行这些土壤参数测试。该项目将通过减少化肥径流和灌溉用水量来改善土壤和流域健康。收集的数据将为土壤参数模型提供信息，以便能够更好地预测区域土壤健康。该项目的材料和传感器可用于其他监测应用，如流域和饮用水中的化学污染或受污染环境地点的修复工作。该系统将提高农业利润率、环境和公共健康以及水资源稀缺性。拟议中的项目将推进用于农业监测的传感器。其目标是：(2)开发监测土壤中氮和盐浓度水平的传感器，(2)将传感器集成到可埋在农田中的聚合物探头中，以及(3)在整个玉米作物周期内评估完整的传感器探头。预期的挑战包括：氮、盐、湿度和电导率的同时传感；传感器的寿命持续整个生长季；在不同温度和pH下获取不同土壤深度的传感器读数；以及为传感器数据供电并将其传输到手持数据记录器。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is to optimize fertilizer and irrigation in farming with data collected from novel sensors. These sensors will continuously monitor soil nitrogen, salinity, and moisture throughout an entire growing season (up to four months). Currently, farmers usually do not measure these soil parameters because it requires them to tediously ship samples back to a laboratory for expensive analysis. These sensors will provide a low-cost, on-site method to perform these soil parameter tests. This project will improve soil and watershed health through reduced fertilizer runoff and irrigation water. The data collected will inform soil parameter models to enable better predictions of regional soil health. This project's materials and sensors can be adapted to other monitoring applications, such as chemical pollution in watersheds and drinking water or remediation efforts at polluted environmental sites. The system will improve farming profit margins, environmental and public health, and water scarcity. The proposed project will advance sensors for agricultural monitoring. The objectives are to: (2) develop sensors to monitor nitrogen and salt concentration levels in the soil, (2) integrate the sensors into polymer-based probes that can be buried in a farm field, and (3) evaluate the completed sensor probe during an entire corn crop cycle. Anticipated challenges include: the simultaneous sensing of nitrogen, salinity, moisture, and conductivity; the longevity of sensors to last the entire growing season; acquiring sensor readings at different soil depths under different temperatures and pH; and powering and transmitting the sensor data to a handheld data logger.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.