Leaf
capacitance can reflect plant water content. However, the
rigid electrodes used in leaf capacitance monitoring may affect plant
health status. Herein, we report a self-adhesive, water-proof, and
gas-permeable electrode fabricated by in
situ electrospinning of a polylactic acid nanofiber membrane
(PLANFM) on a leaf, spraying a layer of the carbon nanotube membrane
(CNTM) on PLANFM, and in
situ electrospinning
of PLANFM on CNTM. The electrodes could be self-adhered to the leaf
via electrostatic adhesion due to the charges on PLANFM and the leaf,
thus forming a capacitance sensor. Compared with the electrode fabricated
by a transferring approach, the in
situ fabricated one did not show obvious influence on plant physiological
parameters. On that basis, a wireless leaf capacitance sensing system
was developed, and the change of plant water status was detected in
the first day of drought stress, which was much earlier than direct
observation of the plant appearance. This work paved a useful way
to realize noninvasive and real-time detection of stress using plant
wearable electronics.