How does agrEcoli work?

Imagine viewing a cross section of the soil in a field. The topsoil is usually depleted in nutrients. Before the fertilisation process begins, the crops are harvested, leaving open soil.
	Next, farmers ‘till’ the soil, replacing the topsoil with deeper, more nutrient-rich soil. Usually farmers will then indiscriminately fertilise the entire field. This is wasteful, as some fertiliser will land on areas which already have abundant nutrient levels.
Instead, we plan to spread agrEcoli bacteria, encapsulated in beads, onto the soil. Since the topsoil has been tilled, it is representative of deeper soil.
	agrEcoli bacteria express RFP constitutively, and express GFP in the presence of nitrates. By using a UV light and spectrophotometer attached to a tractor, farmers can infer the nutrient level of soil from the ratio of Red to Green detected.
Using agrEcoli, farmers can map the nutrient content of their fields. This means they can fertilise only the areas that need it, saving up to £45 per hectare [1].

References

[1]	SoylSense Home page