A sensor nitrate help reduce costs for farmers.

It has been developed by scientists from the University of Bochum, Germany, and allows precise fertilizer requirements to be measured in real time.
Excesses have never been good for agriculture, just as the defects have not been, i.e., fall short of what is necessary. Farmers know well that balance is what provides excellent results..

Applying too much fertilizer can harm the development of the plant, implies a higher cost without benefits and, in case of reaching the cold layer, can pose a significant problem for water resources.

The European Commission has been warning of this fact and has recommended that some countries control it., as in the case of Germany that exceeds the established European standards.

To avoid this bad practice, the researcher at the Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, Nicolas Plumere, has developed a nitrate sensor. Since his childhood, which took place on a farm in Alsace, Plumére wondered how the amount of fertilizer needed for each crop could be determined.. With the time, the question moved to the scientific field.

Like this, has managed to create a device that is easy to use and smaller than a mobile phone. Unlike the methods applied until now, The calculation of nitrate requirements is not carried out in a laboratory. This saves money and time.

The nitrate sensor works similar to a blood pressure device.. The farmer cuts a stem from the crop plants in order to obtain a tiny drop of sap, which is absorbed by a thin measuring stick impregnated with an enzyme that causes a chemical reaction. “This way we obtain a value that corresponds to the loss of nitrate”, dice Plumere. The user can read directly on the device how much fertilizer is needed, or how much is left over.

The scientist and his team carried out test measurements with millet and wheat at the Electrochemical Research Center of the University of Bochum. The experiments were a success and the procedure can be applied to other types of crops..

The process to obtain the patent for the device is already underway. In addition, There are negotiations with companies from the United States and Holland for serial production..

The manufacturing costs of each sensor have been estimated at about 100 EUR, while measuring rods cost less than one euro. But a single sample is not enough. Regular checks are necessary in order to accurately determine the necessary amount of fertilizer.

When crops grow, one measurement should be done per week, in order to define if more fertilizer is needed, or if not a new order is necessary, Plumére assures.