Crops around the globe face climate change and pollution, threatening our food security. With her multispectral imaging camera, Duke professor Maiken Mikkelsen sees how we can more sustainably feed the world.
Synthetic fertilizers have been widely used for more than a century, and they allow farmers to feed the world more efficiently. But there’s a downside: the manufacture of nitrogen-based fertilizer contributes significantly to climate change and air pollution, as does the overuse of fertilizers on farms. Furthermore, nitrogen-rich runoff from farms harms the environment by creating algal blooms and areas of oxygen depletion in streams, lakes and oceans. A well-known example is the “dead zone” at the mouth of the Mississippi River in the Gulf of Mexico.
In a perfect world, fertilizer would be applied in the right place, at the right time, and in the right amount, and the intended plants would soak it all up. In the real world, experts estimate that well over half of nitrogen-based fertilizer is wasted because farmers don’t always know which plants need an influx of nutrients at any given time, and they may prefer to err on the side of applying too much rather than too little. The result? Farmers lose money and the excess nitrogen adds to environmental problems.
What if there were a simple, inexpensive way to help farmers use only the fertilizer they need and no more?
Duke professor Maiken Mikklesen has developed a pocket-sized camera that is making it easier and quicker for farmers to asses the heath of their crops. The benefits are numerous—less water use, a reduction in pesticides, and overall better, more sustainable food.
Read more at Duke Science & Technology
By Mary-Russell Roberson