Research Program 3

Research Program 3

Project 3 Sensor and Controlled Release Systems for Sustainable Agriculture

Institution: TÜBİTAK MARMARA RESEARCH CENTER (MAM

TÜBİTAK MARMARA RESEARCH CENTER (MAM), founded in 1972, performs its operations at “TÜBİTAK Gebze Campus” in Kocaeli Gebze.

Its vision is to become a leading science and technology center in the world in the field of applied research, while its mission is to help Türkiye increase its global competitiveness by making use of science and technology. TÜBİTAK MAM operating with a total of 633 personnel has four Vice Presidencies on ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES, CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABILITY, MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES and LIFE SCIENCES.

TÜBİTAK MAM's top priority values in its projects with stakeholders and in its industrial services are customer-orientedness and quality. As a result of this understanding, all units of TÜBİTAK MAM received the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System Certificate in 2002 and the ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System Certificate in 2005. TÜBİTAK MAM carries out its internationally recognized studies in laboratories accredited by DAR/DAP since 2002 and by TÜRKAK since 2010, according to the "EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017 General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories" standard. Adopting the Total Quality Management approach, TÜBİTAK MAM received the National Quality Achievement Award in the public sector in 2003 as a result of all these efforts. While the existing Management Systems are sustained, new certificates are obtained in new areas. In 2023, the Molecular Biology Laboratory operating under the Vice Presidency of LIFE SCIENCES received the Halal Accreditation Certificate by the Halal Accreditation Agency (HAK) within the scope of the standard "OIC/SMIIC 35:2020 General Requirements for the Competence of Laboratories Performing Halal Testing", and started to offer services in the field of halal. The Vice Presidency of ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES started to work on AS 9100 Series Quality Management Systems in the Field of Aviation, Space and Defense in order to provide better services in aviation and defense projects, and aims to achieve certification by the end of 2024.

TÜBİTAK MAM, the leading institution of the advanced technology world owing to its qualified manpower of esteemed scientists and with its state-of-the-art and wide-range laboratories, is always at the disposal of industrial organizations, defense organizations, universities and public institutions (local governments, ministries, etc.). The services offered are performed in the form of applied R&D Projects (product/process development, cost reduction, increasing efficiency, etc.) or Industrial Services (testing, analysis, measurement, training, consultancy). TÜBİTAK MAM performs its operations with a customer-oriented approach.

Detailed information about TÜBİTAK MAM can be found at www.mam.tubitak.gov.tr

Project 3.1 Controlled Nutrient Release with Micro/Nanostructures and Nanoformulations

Project 3.1 Summary:

It is expected that the challenges faced by the agricultural sector in ensuring food security without compromising environmental safety for the growing world population will increasingly escalate in the coming century. Therefore, employing modern technologies is necessary to ensure an ample food supply while eliminating the environmental drawbacks associated with chemical fertilization. Additionally, the adverse effects on the environment resulting from the improper disposal or insufficient reuse of agricultural waste have become prominent issues in recent years. Advanced biotechnological and nanotechnological tools have the potential to offer solutions to current and future challenges in agricultural systems.

In the project, the aim is to develop smart fertilizer systems with controlled/delayed release properties using lignocellulosic materials obtained from agricultural waste, and to produce solutions that offer high efficiency and low environmental risks in plant nutrition. Thus, embracing sustainability and circular economy approaches, we aim to transform what comes from the soil into value-added advanced materials and return it back to the soil.

Within the scope of the project, a comprehensive approach to plant nutrition is adopted, aiming to develop three different smart fertilizer systems. These systems are:

  • Micronutrient foliar fertilizer formulations with controlled release properties,
  • Macro-element fertilizer formulations with superabsorbent polymer-based materials with high water retention capacity for soil application,
  • Micronutrient fertilizer formulations based on nanocomposite gel with delayed/slow release properties for soil application.

Project 3.2 Probe Development for Real-Time Detection and Monitoring of Nitrate Concentrations for Agriculture

Project 3.2 Summary:

Excessive use of fertilizers causes pollution of agricultural areas and makes the soil unusable in the long term, while underuse causes periodic loss of productivity and therefore financial losses. Excessive use of fertilizers causes nitrate, a fertilizer component, to be transported to the lower layers of the soil and underground water resources, both through rainwater and irrigation processes for agricultural purposes. In order to prevent this negative situation, it is important to develop sensors that can measure nitrate levels accurately and in real time. This study will prevent excessive use of fertilizers and thus prevent the pollution of agricultural lands and water resources with nitrate. For this purpose, the main aim of our project is lignocellulosic substances, which are natural waste resulting from agricultural activities, into sensor structures and to develop an easy-to-use and ergonomic sensor system that can measure nitrate in the soil continuously, that is, 24/7.

Therefore, at the end of the project, we expect to obtain a sensor structure based on natural waste that will be used effectively in increasing the productivity of agriculture and preventing the pollution of our soil. We expect significant contributions in two aspects upon completion of the Project, also;

  • The first of these involves using natural waste to obtain a value-added product, and the second involves providing our society and world agriculture with a high-value-added product that can be used in a strategic field such as agriculture,
  • On the other hand, by ensuring on-site and continuous measurement of the amount of nitrate in the soil with the product to be obtained at the end of the project, a very important step will be taken to prevent the pollution of groundwater and to leave clean nature to future generations.