Sean Yokomizo of Davis, Calif.-based Inner Plant demonstrated the technology at a field day at Peterson Farm Seed in southeastern North Dakota.
A new technology can alert growers to plant stress weeks before it becomes visible. The technology, from agricultural technology company InnerPlant, produces crops that emit specific light signals when they are stressed by fungal infections or other pathogens. These signals are visible from satellites weeks before the stress becomes visible to the human eye in the field, says Shawn Yokomizo, vice president of communications for InnerPlant.
Sean Yokomizo of Davis, Calif.-based Inner Plant demonstrated the technology at a field day at Peterson Farm Seed in southeastern North Dakota.
He explained that plants mount immune responses just like humans do, and react at a molecular level when they're stressed. InnerPlant tracks those molecular sites and inserts additional DNA that causes the plant to produce a fluorescent protein when it responds to a particular stress, a fluorescence that can be detected from space.
“What's great is that because it's tied to the plant's immune response, it detects stress very early — it starts to emit signals within 24 hours of infection or stress, four to six weeks before they're detectable in the field,” Yokomizo said.
Agronomists can use that data to treat individual plants that are stressed – meaning they only treat the plants that need it, spot problems early, and use fewer chemicals with precise treatments. Yokomizo says that while the technology can collect large amounts of data, farmers don't have to sift through reams of unnecessary information to get the data they need.
“We've designed this system to be very transparent: it's in the seed, the farmer knows what to do with the seed. They plant it, they grow it, and we provide recommendations based on the signals,” he said. “There's a huge amount of data moving behind the scenes, but we're giving farmers an easy-to-use, simple tool that shows them early action.”
Sean Yokomizo of Davis, Calif.-based Inner Plant demonstrated the technology at a field day at Peterson Farm Seed in southeastern North Dakota.
Yokomizo said early action is a key factor.
“Knowing your house is on fire is great, but wouldn't it be better to know there's smoke coming from your kitchen and you need to do something about it now? And that's the loop we're trying to close for farmers – giving them early, actionable information so they can act before damage is done and preserve their yields.”
Sample images captured by the satellite can be seen on the InnerPlant website.
Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, announcer and speaker specializing in agriculture. She primarily covers legislative issues and hosts The AgNet News Hour and The AgNet Weekly podcasts. Sabrina is originally from California's agricultural Central Valley.
