A strong, reversible, and conformal adhesive gel for diverse plants

Abstract

Developing plant adhesives opens opportunities for studying and optimizing plant growth through precision pesticide and nutrient delivery, plant health monitoring, and human-plant interaction. However, diverse and changing topologies and chemical compositions of plants during growth present challenges in designing effective and universal adhesives. In this study, we address this challenge by developing a gel composite consisting of a biopolymer that enables dynamic covalent bonding with plant surfaces and cross-linked polyacrylamide, which provides adaptability. This composite gel demonstrates strong yet reversible adhesion on both hairy and nonhairy plant surfaces. Its adhesion strength exceeds that of previously reported noninvasive plant adhesives by an order of magnitude. This achievement enables localized and sustained drug delivery to plant tissues and allows for stable plant actuation via electrical stimulation, opening pathways for modulating sensitive plant systems.