Sampling and Analysis System to Track Nitrogen Transport and Transformations in Plants

Understanding the transport and utilization of nutrients in crops is critical for sustaining the global food supply ensuring crop climate resilience and managing the environmental impacts of agriculture. Nitrogen inputs are a central component of modern agricultural practices but excess application can lead to greenhouse gas emissions leaching and reduced food quality. Tools that provide insights into the drivers of nutrient transport in plants would i) guide fertilization strategies to improve productivity and sustainability by synchronizing nitrogen addition with crop demands and ii) inform farming practices that adapt to the effects of short and long term climate variability. The overall objective of this project is to develop and commercialize a field-deployable sampling and measurement system for high temporal and spatial resolution monitoring of nitrogen transport and transformations in living plants. We propose to couple microdialysis probes installed along the nutrient transport paths in plants to a sensitive and selective detection scheme employing high resolution infrared spectroscopy. A tool for ease of installation of microdialysis probes into the plant xylem will be developed. The system will yield nondestructive observation of the transport of nitrate nitrite and ammonium over a plant's growth cycle. The proposed research and development will result in a monitoring system for real-time in situ mapping of nutrients. It will be marketed to the plant science community which needs new tools to advance the understanding of nitrogen cycling and usage. The market is large due to the continued need for increased crop productivity food quality and climate resilience.