Nuclear technology need not be feared - says an article in The People - it has applications that are designed to improve our lives. These include analyzing soil fertility and nutrients to improve the application of fertilizers.
Through a partnership between the World Agroforestry Centre and the Institute of Nuclear Science at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, nuclear technology is being use to analyze the concentration of certain elements in soils and crops. It is also being used to help measure soil moisture so that land affected by salinity can be better managed. Nuclear techniques also help in the control of pests such as the tsetse fly.
Among the techniques being used in the partnership are Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) and Total-reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (TXRF).
Just as X-rays and other nuclear techniques have benefitted medicine, their application in agriculture is well intentioned.
Read the full story: Our phobia for nuclear technology unfounded
See also:
New X-ray technology to reveal the make-up of Africa soils
Information about the Soil-Plant Spectral Diagnostics Laboratory
