(Describer) Streams of light collide to create a globe filled with water. Title: Science Nation. A man clips something onto the leaf of a plant.
Here's a leaf sensor.
You can put this on any leaf.
(male narrator)
Okay, geranium,
call if you need anything.
(male)
It's 1/4 inch in diameter,
and about 1 1/8 inch long.
(narrator)
How much water could be saved
if plants let us know
when they are thirsty?
With this leaf sensor,
it's possible to find out.
(male)
You will get what we call the
water-deficit stress reading.
(Describer) ...on a graph.
(narrator)
AgriHouse, a Colorado
agriculture
and biotech company,
developed this sensor
with help from the
National Science Foundation.
Here's how it works.
When the plant starts
drying out, the leaf contracts.
That change can be measured
in electrical voltage.
One device every
20 or 30 acres
could precisely communicate
an entire crop's water needs.
(Describer) Richard Stoner:
You can use
that information
to turn on and off
the irrigation equipment.
And that's
the ultimate goal.
(narrator)
Company founder
Richard Stoner says
the technology
was first developed
by University of Colorado
aerospace engineers.
(Stoner)
They wanted a device
for going to Mars,
where the astronaut
would have to spend
over 70 to 80 percent
of their waking hours farming.
They need devices that would be
in the greenhouses on Mars
that would free up
their time.
(narrator)
But Stoner's team realized
there may be immediate benefits
on this planet.
The leaf sensor
could pay off
for farmers
and greenhouse owners.
The Department of Agriculture
tested the sensors
on a Colorado research farm,
irrigating only
when plants called for it--
reduced water usage
by 25 percent.
(Stoner)
The plants said,
"I don't need much water."
In Colorado, it could be
as much as $100 million
in savings to farmers.
(narrator)
Wired sensors work
on any crop or houseplant.
And Engineering students
from the University of Colorado
are now testing
a wireless version.
The end user can plug in,
get a wireless signal
sent to it,
(Describer) Matt Aldrich:
and get instant feedback
on what needs to be done.
(Describer) A waterfall lands on black rocks.
(narrator)
With almost 70 percent
of earth's fresh water
going to agriculture,
we could help conserve
an increasingly
precious resource
by irrigating only
when crops really need it.
(Describer) The globe turns.
For Science Nation,
I'm Miles O' Brien.
