Washington, Oct 2 : Our planet has a fever. But global warming's effects on farming and water resources is still a mystery. Now an invention may provide a new diagnostic tool for assessing the health of the earth's soil.

A Tel Aviv University (TAU) invention, the Optical Soil Dipstick (OSD) designed by Eyal Ben-Dor will help scientists, urban planners and farmers understand the changing health of the soil, as well as its agricultural potential and other associated concerns. It could be used as a whistle-blower to catch polluters.

"I was always attracted to drug development and diagnostics, which spurred the development of this OSD device," says Ben-Dor, geography professor at TAU. "It's like a diagnostic device that measures soil health. Through a small hole in the surface of the earth, we can assess what lies beneath it."

As climate change alters our planet radically, Ben-Dor explains, this dipstick could instantly tell geographers what parts of the land are best - or worst - for farming, says a TAU release.

These findings were recently reported in the Soil Science Society of America Journal.(IANS)