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| - | =How does agrEcoli work?=
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| - | {|
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| - | |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.
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| - | |[[Image:Using_agrEcoli1.png|400px|thumb|right]]
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| - | |[[Image:Using_agrEcoli2.png|400px|thumb|left]]
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| - | |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.
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| - | |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.
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| - | |[[Image:Using_agrEcoli3.png|400px|thumb|right]]
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| - | |[[Image:Using_agrEcoli4.png|400px|thumb|left]]
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| - | |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.
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| - | |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 [[http://www.soyl.co.uk/Default.aspx 1]].
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| - | |[[Image:Using_agrEcoli4.png|400px|thumb|right]]
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| - | |}
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| | =References= | | =References= |
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