Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Manufacturing Simple and Inexpensive Soil Surface Temperature and Gravimetric Water Content Sensors

Manufacturing Simple and Inexpensive Soil Surface Temperature and Gravimetric Water Content Sensors

Published on: December 21, 2019

Distributable screen-printed soil pH sensor demonstrates robust response across variable soil conditions.

Juan Pablo Cisneros-Barba¹, Catherine A Crichton¹, Taylor Sharpe¹

¹Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 1111 Engineering Drive, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA.

Scientific Reports

|June 26, 2026

Summary

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Multi-step femtosecond laser-fabricated membranes for regulated migration of biomolecules and cells.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Long-term on-leaf monitoring of plant electrophysiology with printed adhesive gel bioelectrodes.

Communications engineering·2026

Same author

Skin Conformal Hydrogel Bioelectrodes for High-Fidelity Electrophysiology and Human-Machine Interfaces.

Advanced healthcare materials·2026

Same author

Assessing the functionality of a water-vending kiosk network with high-frequency instrumentation in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Heliyon·2024

Same author

A Transient Printed Soil Decomposition Sensor Based on a Biopolymer Composite Conductor.

Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)·2022

Same author

Rapid Fabrication of Low-Cost Thermal Bubble-Driven Micro-Pumps.

Micromachines·2022

This summary is machine-generated.

A new screen-printed carbon-alizarin sensor offers continuous, recalibration-free soil pH monitoring. This robust sensor technology enables precise, long-term in situ measurements for improved agricultural management.

Area of Science:

Agricultural Science
Sensor Technology
Environmental Monitoring

Background:

Soil pH management is crucial for crop productivity.
Current pH measurement methods face challenges in spatiotemporal accuracy, recalibration, and cost.
Need for robust, continuous, and cost-effective soil pH sensing solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and evaluate a distributable, screen-printed carbon-alizarin-based sensor for long-term, continuous soil pH measurement.
To assess the sensor's robustness across various soil conditions and environmental factors.
To enable autonomous, in situ pH data collection for improved agricultural insights.

Main Methods:

Utilized square-wave voltammetry to analyze the alizarin redox peak position, correlating it with soil pH.

Keywords:

Precision agriculture Printed electronics Soil pH Square wave voltammetry pH Sensor

More Related Videos

In Situ Soil Moisture Sensors in Undisturbed Soils

In Situ Soil Moisture Sensors in Undisturbed Soils

Published on: November 18, 2022

Measurements of Soil Water Potential and Conductivity based on a Simple Evaporation Experiment using a Hydraulic Property Analyzer

Measurements of Soil Water Potential and Conductivity based on a Simple Evaporation Experiment using a Hydraulic Property Analyzer

Published on: August 9, 2024

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Manufacturing Simple and Inexpensive Soil Surface Temperature and Gravimetric Water Content Sensors

Manufacturing Simple and Inexpensive Soil Surface Temperature and Gravimetric Water Content Sensors

Published on: December 21, 2019

In Situ Soil Moisture Sensors in Undisturbed Soils

In Situ Soil Moisture Sensors in Undisturbed Soils

Published on: November 18, 2022

Measurements of Soil Water Potential and Conductivity based on a Simple Evaporation Experiment using a Hydraulic Property Analyzer

Measurements of Soil Water Potential and Conductivity based on a Simple Evaporation Experiment using a Hydraulic Property Analyzer

Published on: August 9, 2024

Screen-printed carbon electrodes with alizarin were integrated with a custom potentiostat.

Tested sensor performance under varying soil moisture, compaction, and soil types.

Main Results:

The sensor demonstrated a pH-proportional alizarin redox peak position, invariant over time.
Sensor exhibited robustness in diverse environmental and installation conditions without recalibration.
Autonomous data logging and continuous field operation for months confirmed reliable in situ pH sensing.

Conclusions:

The screen-printed carbon-alizarin sensor provides a reliable method for continuous, in situ soil pH monitoring.
This technology addresses limitations of traditional sampling methods, enabling spatiotemporally dense pH data collection.
The developed sensor system is suitable for long-term agricultural and environmental applications.