Preliminary study of the electrical response of the cactus

Abstract

Plants constantly interact with their environment and respond to biological and environmental stimuli. This article focuses on the study of cactus, an endemic cactus known for its medicinal properties. The plant responds to factors such as light, humidity, and nutrient availability through changes in its physio electric response. To enhance the understanding of these interactions, a monitoring system is proposed that allows real-time collection of electrophysiological data. An inverting amplifier (LM324) with a gain value of 5V was used to amplify the acquired signal from cactus. Electrophysiological measurements were taken using probes connected to the plant and the amplifier. The data was processed and displayed using an Arduino Uno, taking advantage of the Arduino's analog ports and its 10-bit analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) resolution. The article presents results from exposing the plant to three environmental factors: sunlight, shade, and watering. Different physio electric responses were observed in each case, with changes in the recorded output voltage. This monitoring approach provides valuable information on how cactus responds to different stimuli, which can be crucial for optimizing its growth and conservation.