Noninvasive Measurement of Bioelectric Potentials of Plants

Abstract

A system for the noninvasive measurement of bioelectric potentials in the soil–plant system, which is based on a new—and harmless to plants—method ensuring the surface contact of the root system with electrodes, is developed and tested with the use of the Chlorophytum comosum perennial grassy plant. It is shown that the irrigation of the plant from the top after exposure to water-scarce conditions causes a jump in the bioelectric potential at the level of 200–250 mV for about 300 s with subsequent reaching of a plateau corresponding to the physiological state of the plant. At the same time, the diffusion of water from below leads to a smooth change in the bioelectric potential upon reaching the same level. It is shown that invasive insertion of an electrode leads to nonmonotonic and descending time dependences of the bioelectric potential, which are probably a response of the living system to damage.