Electronic soil boosts crop growth
earth.com
earth.com
The electrical current causes electrophoresis, which increases ion mobility and allows the roots to more easily absorb them via electroosmosis while also increasing ion exchange between insoluble soil particles and the water. On top of that the ions coming off the electrodes probably contribute since copper is a cofactor in many enzymes that effect photosynthesis, respiration, and signal transduction.
It doesn't always work though, depending on the soil, the electrical current use (strength and duration), and the species. Done incorrectly all it'll do is damage the root system and kill the plant.
(Edit) Pourbaix diagram > Applications > Concept of pe in environmental chemistry; "EH–pH diagram or a pE/pH diagram" : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pourbaix_diagram#Concept_of_pe...
TDS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_dissolved_solids
EC probe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_conductivity_meter
This is REALLY interesting.
I was just looking at horizontal gene transfer, which is the idea of genes transfering between plant species via the mycorhizzal hyphea (root highway bettween plant and mushroom mycelium).
https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=samstave#38756295
Look at the minerals which are transfered via the Hyphea: (conductive)
>mycorrhizae, known as root fungi, form symbiotic associations with plant roots. In these associations, the fungi are actually integrated into the physical structure of the root. The fungi colonize the living root tissue during active plant growth. Through mycorrhization
>>the plant obtains phosphate and other minerals, such as zinc and copper, from the soil.
>The fungus obtains nutrients, such as sugars, from the plant root. Mycorrhizae help increase the surface area of the plant root system because hyphae, which are narrow, can spread beyond the nutrient depletion zone. <-- may lead to why the plants may seem far enough apart.
Whats interesting to note would be the conductivity of the mycelial network entangled the root system. I'd bet you could find the absolute right frequency based on plant species..
What would have been a truly interesting alternate history would have been if Tesla would have prevailed.
Both through wireless power transfer, but, relating to this - his transfer of electricity through the ground.
I wonder if that had become an adopted technology if we would have seen an effect on the flora?
EDIT: I'd really like to know what the electrical impulses between a mycorhyzzal (Gunna start calling it Mz) and a plants root system is - They specifically connect with "vascular root" based species...
This seems to indicate plants whith root systems which may be conductive.
The metaphysical Alex Grey in me wants to believe that the mycelium is just mycological neurons without a body and sybiotically parasites its way around in a Beneficial Dictator manner in which it is a net positive viral biological entity. (but its still a neuron)
Higher EC soil is presumably a better path to ground. Lightning current is too strong and damages plants.
Null hypothesis: There are no companion planting approaches that result in greater yield due to idk symbiotic Eh-Ph homeostasis
Three Sisters: Corn, Bean, Squash
Tomatoes and potatoes grow well together in a 5gal HDPE bucket with hole cut into the side to access the potatoes; no idea whether there is electrical production from the tomatoes waving in the wind
Companion planting > Mechanisms doesn't list soil EC or electricity Output given e.g. Eh-Ph and moisture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Companion_planting
These networks transfer more than just nutrients. It's also a communication network that allows plants across species to warn each other of pests. Recent research shows that even RNA might be being transmitted through mycorrhizal networks and we know that mother trees are able to identify their offspring and send specific nutrients to them and possibly even some sort of chemical, acquired memories.
HGT is not at all unique to mycorrhizal fungi. One interesting example is the dodder plant which is an obligate "parasite" that can affect many different species of plants. A very large portion of its DNA is now plant genes from various species its parasitized. Though it's not clear if these genes are used. It also turns out that dodder plants too can act as above-ground communication networks; allowing plants to warn each other of pests and other threats.
But more and more evidence is emerging that HGT is much more common than we would predict in even mammals and fish. The gene to produce a crucial antifreeze protein in smelt came from herrings for example:
https://www.quantamagazine.org/dna-jumps-between-animal-spec...
> I'd bet you could find the absolute right frequency based on plant species
There's two major types of mycorrhizal fungi: arbuscular and ectomycorrhizal (there's also endo- but these, by definition, aren't soil fungi). Arbuscular fungi seem to have very low host specificity and are kinda "generalists". One species found in Australia was found to improve crop yields amongst almost every single crop they tested it on. The complex handshake that goes on between plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi seems to be very ancient (fungi made it on to the land first and plants likely wouldn't have survived without their help).
I would guess that most plant species evolved to support this ancient language and there isn't enough variation to differentiate anything at the species level. Perhaps you'd have more luck with ectomycorrhizal fungi, but even then I would assume the frequency is much more likely to be associated with fungi species than plant species.
(heh saw you in another thread, mr 4/4 (that Kuni Kath architecture vid was interesting)
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Paul Stamets is a national treasure - I just wish he would release what he knows about Portobellos that he claims they will kill him if he releases it.
I wonder if it goes back further. Perhaps that's the original purpose of the Baghdad batteries
It's not outside the realm of possibility that the highly experimental people of the area found some correlation between those devices they made and their agricultural yield.
You don't need modern physics to simply observe. Before penicillin was "discovered" it was well known on battlefields that you should apply a moldy piece of bread to wounds (the most common bread mold is Penicillium).
Another example could be mycorrhizal fungi. Many indigenous people had complex cosmological theories that included trees being able to "talk" to each other. Westerners who had no concept of this might have translated it as "forest spirits" and other woo-hoo. Even if the underlying conceptualization is "wrong" it can still be useful to model out experiments and take observations. We can just as easily imagine an alien species come to learn about our concept of a "photon". There's no such "thing" as a photon. It's just a metaphor we use to talk about the fact that light has properties of both particles and waves. Maybe those aliens would listen to our ramblings and translate it as us believing in some sort of "light spirit".
but the hydroponic costs are like 10-500x the cost of traditional modern farming of specialty crops (think lettuces, berries, leafy greens) and worse for row crops.
Also the effectiveness of electrolysis of the soil also varies greatly based on CEC (cat-ion exchange capacity) — which is the water holding capacity of soil profile — which in the right range is what allows the increased microbial activity which is what increases the root uptake of nutrients.
The obvious answer to my mind is feeding colonies. All elemental nutrients can be sourced out of the regolith, as well as glass and metals for building materials. Other nutrients can be densely shipped from earth. Electricity is plentiful. Soil is expensive to move to space.
If land with decent soil (and keeping the soil good) is inexpensive, traditional soil based farming is superior.
Restoring or amending super overworked or “poor” soil is both expensive and time consuming.
A lot of those interesting vertical farming startups fail miserably because they are outcompeted by relatively nearby, lower cost soil based production - the whole location part of the equation simply doesn’t work.
There’s also fun questions about if you can reliably do hydro/aqua “organically” to appease the granola crowd, it turns out that soil has certain advantages if treated right such as having various fungi etc that help fight crop disease/pests etc.
- "Low current around roots boosts plant growth" (2023) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38256137 :
"In situ self-induced electrical stimulation to plants: Modulates morphogenesis, photosynthesis and gene expression in Vigna radiata and Cicer arietinum" (2023) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S15675... https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=2047559626560052080...
- "Electronic “soil” enhances crop growth" https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1029701 :
> Barley seedlings grow on average 50% more when their root system is stimulated electrically through a new cultivation substrate. In a study published in the journal PNAS, researchers from Linköping University have developed an electrically conductive “soil” for soilless cultivation, ; eSoil
Looks like the PNAS DOI URL is 404'ing?
also from 2015: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26702448/
Also neat for eSoil: "Sensor-Free Soil Moisture Sensing Using LoRa Signals" (2022) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38768947
"Real-time bioelectronic sensing of environmental contaminants" (2022) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05356-y ; bioelectric chemopresence sensors that release electricity when [...]
[1]: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S231941702...