This
study proposed a low-cost sensor for in situ automatic monitoring
of phosphate and nitrite in agricultural water environments, involving
a series of “Fish-Bite” reservoirs, multiple reagent
capsules, and a colorimetric sensor. The Fish-Bite reservoir is an
alternative to the pumps, valves, and filters that are widely used
for water sample collection and also offers a closed cell for chromogenic
reactions afterward. Up to two capsules can be embedded in each reservoir
to support chromogenic reactions that use two different reagents in
sequence. From the results of calibration tests in the laboratory,
the limit of detection was found to be approximately 0.01 mg/L for
both phosphate and nitrite, with a linear range of 0.01–1.00
mg/L for phosphate and 0.01–0.20 mg/L for nitrite. Furthermore,
an in situ experiment was successfully carried out in an irrigation
canal beside farmland to demonstrate the practicability and robustness
of the device. The averaged concentrations of phosphate and nitrite
were 0.0113 mg/L and 0.0383 mg/L, respectively. The relative deviations
were 20.2% and 11.7%, respectively, referred to results obtained by
using the standard spectrophotometric methods. With the advantages
of being robust, fast, and low cost, this in situ device is promising
for the formation of agricultural sensor networks.