By Courtesy of Morphing Matter Lab, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
Engineers in the US have designed a seed carrier that works in a similar way to a plant resembling the geranium. The device in question is made of oak wood and allows seeds to sink into the soil. Named "E-seed," this clever carrier has been designed to encourage the reforestation of natural areas that are difficult for humans to reach.
Engineers in the US have designed a seed carrier that works in a similar way to a plant resembling the geranium. The device in question is made of oak wood and allows seeds to sink into the soil. Named "E-seed," this clever carrier has been designed to encourage the reforestation of natural areas that are difficult for humans to reach.
Imagine a tool made of wood and shaped something like a corkscrew, that could disperse seeds so that they would automatically bury themselves in the ground when coming into contact with water. This is the strange accessory developed by a team of engineers based in Pittsburgh, USA. The researchers were inspired by the Erodium, a plant with five-petaled flower similar to the geranium, which carries its seeds inside a thin, tightly wound stalk.
“During rain or high humidity, the corkscrew-like stalk unwinds and twists the seed into the soil, where it can take root and is safe from hungry birds and harsh environmental conditions,” explainsa news release from Carnegie Mellon University.
Called E-seed, this autonomous self-burying seed carrier has been designed to encourage the reforestation of natural sites that are difficult for humans to access. This can be useful for improving soil quality and eliminating residual nitrogen from agriculture, as well as for reforesting land after fires or restoring wild areas. These devices are introduced into the wild by aerial means, including drones. The E-seed carrier is made from veneers of white oak, an abundant tree species near the Carnegie Mellon University campus that responds well to moisture.
For the time being, the prototype seed holders are exclusively manufactured in the laboratory. But the researchers hope to be able to roll out production on an industrial scale. "Our carriers can carry payloads of various sizes and contents, including biofertilizers and plant seeds as large as those of whitebark pine, which are about 11 mm in length and about 72 mg," the E-seed creators write in a paper published in the journal, Nature.
In addition to carrying seeds, E-seed could have other uses, such as transporting worms for use as natural pesticides (nematodes), as well as fertilizers or even fungi. "Work is also underway to adapt them for planting seedlings," the research team's news release explains.
