New ‘electronic soil’ may enhance crop growth

Swedish researchers have developed an electrically conductive “soil” for soilless cultivation, known as hydroponics.In a study published in the journal PNAS, they showed how barley seedlings grown in the conductive “soil” grew up to 50 per cent more in 15 days when their roots were stimulated electrically.”The world population is increasing, and we also have climate change. So it’s clear that we won’t be able to cover the food demands of the planet with only the already existing agricultural methods. But with hydroponics we can grow food also in urban environments in very controlled settings,” said Eleni Stavrinidou, Associate Professor at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics at Linkoping University in Sweden.Stavrinidou and team has now developed an electrically conductive cultivation substrate, tailored to hydroponic cultivation, that they call eSoil.Hydroponic cultivation means that plants grow without soil, needing only water, nutrients and something their roots can attach to — a substrate. It is a closed system that enables water recirculation so that each seedling gets exactly the nutrients it needs. Therefore, very little water is required and all nutrients remain in the system, which is not possible in traditional cultivation.