The winner of Cooperative Research Australia’s 2024 Early Career Researcher Competition has developed a pocket-sized 3D printed device that pairs with smartphone apps to allow farmers to test soil fertility.
Soil CRC and University of Tasmania researcher, Reuben Mah, received the award at the Collaborate Innovate conference Gala Dinner on 23 July, coming ahead of almost 70 other industry-focused research project entries.
Fluid sustainability is a threat to Australian farmland, with one of the mitigating solutions being the improvement and sustainment of soil fertility for crop growth.
Soil nutrients are often unpredictable, which means farmers have to conduct frequent soil tests, sending samples to laboratories for analysis. This can be a timely, costly, and inaccurate process, with results not necessarily capturing any recent changes in the soil.
Mah’s research offers an alternative to these tests, with the development of a portable 3D printed device that can be used for in-the-field soil testing.
The device can be paired with smartphone apps to perform multiple measurements in real time, while still obtaining lab-accurate results. The device has already been reviewed by both growers and agronomists, allowing them to optimise their soil fertility interventions for the best crop growth.
Ways to further upskill the production of this device are now being explored.
Cooperative Research Australia CEO, Jane O’Dwyer, said that the organisation was excited to see first-hand how the research is progressing, and how it is already delivering a solution to essential soil testing in the agriculture sector.
“We congratulate Reuben on this enormous feat, along with our four other competition finalists, whose work all points to a promising future of research for Australia,” said O’Dwyer.
“On behalf of Cooperative Research Australia, we are delighted to be able to offer such opportunity to those Early Career Researchers who operate within our member organisations/associations – an opportunity that we hope will continue to highlight the value of R&D investment to industry, and thus encourage further industry-research collaboration across the nation.”
