Engineered Living Hydrogel (ELH) Soil Phosphorus Sensors for Sustainable Nutrient Application

Researcher: Raj Mukkamala

Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for crops but can often be unavailable for plants to uptake due to fixation events in the soil, prompting farmers to overapply phosphorus fertilizer to ensure high crop yields. However the overuse of phosphorus also leads to deterimental effects such as water pollution and resource depletion. This team project, funded by the Resnick Sustainability Institute, aims to develop a novel approach to address this challenge: the creation of Engineered Living Hydrogel (ELH) soil phosphorus sensors combined with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. This ELH-CMOS platform is designed for the real-time, wireless monitoring of bioavailable soil phosphorus levels, aiming to enable precise phosphorus application in agriculture to minimize its environmental impact.