(The video represents part of my research inventions)
Row and horticultural crops require optimized irrigation and fertilization strategies to achieve high yield and quality. Plant sap extraction is a technique that measures transpiration flow as the ascent of sap within xylem tissue. Measurements can be made in stems, trunks, branches, or tillers. Plants have a sap flow system where the xylem transports water, and the phloem transports sugars and other nutrients. Transpiration is a water loss mechanism that occurs during the CO2 exchange process during photosynthesis.
As a consequence of water and nutrient flow across the plant, stems and trunks produce diameter variations, which are completely related to sap flow.
Ions are essential nutrients for the development and growth of plants. An imbalance of ions results in symptoms, diseases, or, eventually, plant death.
We have developed a plant sap extraction method, which is a cutting-edge innovative technology successfully used to address nutrient sufficiency—deficiency and facilitate accurate adjustments in crop nutrient amendments to correct imbalances and nutrient deficiencies. Plant sap analysis provides the opportunity to determine and then apply the precise amount of a needed nutrient before a deficiency manifests as a disease or weakness.
By sap analysis, one could learn the plants’ ion composition information during crop cultivation, identify what nutrient elements they require, and thus provide precise and suitable ion supplements.