A Sensor to Detect when Plants are Under Attack

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By Lab Product News | 16 August 2012 | 227

What we perceive as a sweet aroma of freshly cut grass is actually the plant equivalent of a distress call, one that the grass releases to signal that the lawn is under attack. “Plants have a defense mechanism in which they release unique chemicals as means of communicating with other plants,” said University of Georgia researcher Ramaraja Ramasamy. “And the signature is very specific to the type of stress that is experienced by the plants.” Ramasamy, an assistant professor in the College of Engineering, is currently developing a chemical sensor to detect these odorless, invisible volatiles that foretell plant distress well before they show signs of disease or trauma. Read More