“ Data - driven growing is a grownup thing in horticulture in worldwide . Many growers are into autonomous growing , data - driven greenhouse management , and in advance analytics . We ’re confident that this revolution will impact biologic crop shelter as well ” , read Karel Bolckmans , COO with Biobest . “ After all , if artificial intelligence ( AI ) can help you grow more expeditiously and achieve higher yields , it will decidedly give further betterment to your IPM programme as well . ”
“ Since retailers want to offer a terminated produce Vasco da Gamma twelvemonth - troll of for example nursery tomatoes and deal with as few suppliers as possible , we ’re seeing an evolution towards speedy plate increase of nursery operations . Growers need to farm sufficient quantities of a gross offering twelve months per year , from cherry to crab tomato plant and everything in between . It ensue in bigger , multi - website , and international company that can be complex to control . information - driven growing enable you to keep track ” , Karel explain .
“ We also see that data - drive growing performs much practiced than growers themselves when it comes to optimize plant development . We ’ll be move to grow found on strong data , not on gut intuitive feeling . ”
“ The same is dependable for IPM . The final result of biocontrol - based IPM creature are largely dependent on recognize precisely what is going on in the greenhouse . The good you know how your plants and their pest and their innate foe are doing , the more efficient and effective you will be able-bodied to deploy your crop security peter and the less chemical pesticides you will need to use . ”
partnership and own developmentIn May last yr , Biobest establish Crop - Scanner , which comprises a scouting App for recording the location , severity , and identity of pests and diseases in the crop . Clearly visualise these datum via its entanglement - found user interface through heatmaps and graphs allows the raiser to have a better overview of the situation in his crop while allow his Biobest advisor to give him the good potential technical advice . More latterly , Biobest also entered into a partnership with the Canadian company Ecoation , which developed a mobile information harvesting program that combines thick biological science , computer vision and detector engineering science , artificial intelligence , and robotics . “ We ’ve been in touch for several long time now and recently decide to make for together on creating IPM 3.0 . Their television camera ’s , sensors , and autonomous vehicles allow us to gather up the good possible data which help as stimulus for an stilted tidings - based Decision Support System ( DSS ) that allows us to provide the growers with the good - in - course of study technical advice regarding unified pesterer and disease management ( IPM ) ” , Karel explains . “ At the same time , raiser have been contend with several grievous virus outbreaks , of which ToBRFV and COVID were only a few . This has made it harder for us to ofttimes inspect our customers in person to provide them with technical advice . But how to get accurate information from growers about the situation in the harvest if you ca n’t gossip them ? Ecoation ’s World Wide Web - based user port allow for distant counselling , thereby rendering frequent on - situation technical visits are not necessary anymore . ”
There ’s more … Earlier this month , Biobest announcedtheir investment in Arugga , Israeli developer of a robotlike tomato pollinator . It might await like an alternative for the Biobest humblebee – and actually , it is . “ But our goal is not to sell the most bumblebees or beneficial insects and hint . We require to be the agriculturist ’s most reliable supplier of the most in effect solutions in pollination and incorporated pestis direction in a world characterise by speedy innovation . ” Although this might vocalise like a big change in policy for the troupe , Karel accentuate that it is not at all as rash a conclusion as it might seem . “ We ’re convinced that have access to more accurate entropy of the status of pestilence , diseases and natural enemies in their crop will allow growers to acquire more trust in biocontrol - base IPM and therefore reach out less fast to the pesticide bottle . ”
We have done extensive research for over three years , meditate the available technology and letters patent . That way , we conclude that Ecoation made a wonderful lucifer , not only in price of engineering science but also when it descend to vision and caller culture . The same goes for Arugga . Their several technologies support the development of the horticultural business to parcel out with the ever - increase challenges of scale - increase , lying-in famine , and market need . ”
The technologies Biobest now participates in go beyond IPM . The Ecoation applied science for example also concerns takings prediction , gamy - resolution clime measure , and controlling the quality of crop work . “ Through the Ecoation technology anomaly can be notice much originally , that means portend and prevent outbreak of pestilence and diseases . Non - stop measuring everywhere is our ideal . This way we will learn more about the result of climate on the plant and , more importantly , the upshot of the crop trade protection measures . ”
Karel notices an increasing stake of growers in this kind of technology . “ There is an increase market place requirement for residue - free fruits and veggie . That ’s the guidance we ’re heading to . Our aim is to help growers do this in the best style possible : with the support of robotics and AI . ”
Data aggregation will convert more growersHe is convinced that the data point that can be roll up will win over more agriculturalist to start using the Ecoation and Arugga technologies . “ We see now that innovator in North America are highly concerned and are currently successfully trialing these technologies . But it ’s more than that : what we sell , is a production increment because of less plant focus from plague and disease . Moreover , every single pesticide treatment cause industrial plant stress and therefore negatively influences harvest yield . This is very well fuck among experienced growers . ”
He remembers when a couple of decades ago , they saw the same when agriculturalist start up change from chemical crop protection to IPM . “ I vividly remember 2006 - 2007 in Spain when many grower made the transposition to biologic control . They did n’t want to , they were force by the retailers after the issue of a write up on pesticide residues on Spanish green groceries by Greenpeace Germany . But at the ending of that year , everybody was picking more and better peppers . In Kenya and elsewhere , rise cultivator who switch to biocontrol - establish IPM pick more flowers , with a recollective stem and a better vase animation . However , stories like this have never been scientifically quantified and publish but are very well known to everyone in the diligence . With our technologies , we will be able-bodied to like a shot and continuously measure the accurate effects of IPM on crop yield . Less body of work , more objective datum . That means harvest more kilos with less drive . AI and robotics will wreak us to the Olympic version of IPM . ”
© FloralDaily.com/Arlette Sijmonsma
