By Kayla, Founder Third Orbit Flora
The flora of our Earth never ceases to surprise us! Thanks to ongoing research, we know that plants emit electrical signals, and scientists have been working for decades to decipher their meaning.
One team of researchers took this a step further by experimenting with plant wearables, yes, just like your Apple Watch or Fitbit, but for plants! These sensors detect changes in electrical activity, allowing researchers to identify early signs of stress or disease.
In 2022, they developed a sensor that attaches to the leaves to monitor water levels. This enabled plant caretakers to address dehydration before visible distress signals, like wilting or yellowing, appeared.
Fast forward to today (March 19, 2025), and researchers, including Liang Dong from Iowa State University, have published a study in ACS Sensors introducing an advanced wearable patch for plant leaves.
While monitoring water levels is useful, Dong wanted to go further, creating a reusable sensor that directly detects plant stress. His team focused on an important biochemical marker: hydrogen peroxide.
Plants produce hydrogen peroxide when under stress, triggering their natural defense systems. Since this reaction occurs before outward symptoms like yellowing or wilting, it could be an early warning sign of disease, dehydration, or pest infestations. However, traditional hydrogen peroxide testing is time-consuming and requires cutting leaves off the plant, which makes it impractical for large-scale monitoring.
To solve this problem, Dong’s team developed a wearable sensor that attaches to the underside of leaves using microscopic plastic needles. These needles are coated with a chitosan-based hydrogel containing an enzyme that reacts with hydrogen peroxide, producing electrons. The sensor then conducts the electrons, converting biochemical signals into electrical data, which can be analyzed in an app.
The best part? This technology is cheap, fast, and accessible. It could be a game-changer for farmers and plant enthusiasts alike. Liang Dong explains, “We can achieve direct measurements in under a minute for less than a dollar per test.” He adds that “this breakthrough will significantly streamline analysis, making it practical for farmers to use our patch sensor for real-time disease crop monitoring.”
By catching plant diseases before they spread, this technology could help reduce crop loss, lower food waste, and contribute to a more sustainable future. The more we understand the hidden language of plants, the better we can care for them, and in turn, they’ll continue to nourish and sustain us on our shared planet.
Author: Kayla, Founder Third Orbit Flora
Photo credits: ACS Sensors
Sources:
SciTech Daily: https://scitechdaily.com/wearable-sensor-detects-plant-stress-before-its-visible/
National Institutes of Health: Chitosan based Hydrogel
Third Orbit Flora 
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