Agriculture and reforestation: Bioinspired seed carrier improves on nature.

By Danli Luo, Aditi Maheshwari, Andreea Danielescu, Jiaqi Li, Yue Yang, Ye Tao, Lingyun Sun, Dinesh K. Patel, Guanyun Wang*, Shu Yang*, Teng Zhang*, Lining Yao*.

DOI | Nature cover story | Nature News  | Nature Video
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Collaborative Institutes:
Morphing Matter Lab, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University (Leading)
Syracuse University
University of Pennsylvania
Accenture Labs
Zhejiang University

Aerial seeding is a crucial way to cover large and otherwise inaccessible areas, and can facilitate post-fire reforestation or wildland restoration. However, when a seed lies on the surface, it can be damaged by weather conditions or eaten by wildlife, resulting in low germination rates.

A new biodegradable seed carrier design inspired by the self-drilling behaviour of Erodium seeds is described in a paper in Nature. The seed carrier has a higher implantation success rate than that of Erodium seeds. This technology may improve the effectiveness of aerial seeding to address agricultural and environmental stresses in degraded regions.