Patterned microfluidic sheets control association between plant roots and beneficial microbes

(RhizoSheet) Grant agreement ID: 101028242

Traditional fertilisers, which package soluble mineral elements into granules, are easily acquired by plant roots, but leach into the environment causing pollution. Slow-release fertilisation decreases the diffusion of nutrients to the soil but affects its uptake by the root. While biological fertilisation is inspired by mechanisms observed in soil, maintaining efficient colonisation of the root by beneficial microbes is difficult. The EU-funded RhizoSheet project will address these challenges, using cutting-edge microfluidic based hybrid paper-polymer technology for device fabrication to observe and control the association between plants and beneficial microbes. Optical sensors and novel functional materials will be employed as biochemical sensors to understand the location of compounds secreted by roots over time when they interact with soil microbes.