Syngenta’s Interra^® Scan soil health mapping service unveiled at Fields of Innovation 2022

Syngenta has unveiled one of the world’s highest-resolution soil mapping services, Interra^® Scan, at Fields of Innovation 2022, Europe’s premier agricultural innovation event.

The Interra^® Scan service, which offers precision soil analysis to help growers and agronomists optimize crop nutrition and soil health, will be initially available to continental and Eastern European growers.

Interra^® Scan offers high-resolution soil mapping for up to 27 layers of information, providing growers with precise information on soil health. ″Interra^® Scan produces high-resolution maps accessible by growers’ computers via the Interra^® Scan platform,″ explains Mark Hall, Head of Sustainable and Responsible Business EAME. ″Its detection technology provides mapping of all common nutrient properties including, pH, soil texture, organic matter, carbon, and cation exchange capacity, as well as elevation and plant water availability – all together, it offers over 800 data reference points per hectare. It is the equivalent of a complete medical check-up for humans, but for soil.″

The map allows growers to understand the texture, nutrient and carbon content of their soils in order to optimize nutrition and carbon capture. The methodology used by Interra^® Scan also enables a much-wider operating window for soil scans compared to other soil scanning systems. It is not affected by soil moisture, compaction, crop cover or cultivation state, meaning there are very few limitations to when it can be used.

The launch of Interra^® Scan is further proof of Syngenta’s commitment to helping growers create healthy soils, which are the foundation of our food system. Bringing this best-in-class solution to market also demonstrates how Syngenta’s investments in innovation have increasingly supported the adoption of regenerative agriculture.

Speaking about the new technology, Alexandra Brand, Regional Director of Crop Protection, EAME, said: ″Our interest in precision soil mapping technology is increasing because soil health is the basis for plant health. Understanding the variability in nutrients and textural-based properties of the field's soil results in better optimization of input (fertilizer, seed, etc.) placement for economic and environmental gain.″

By providing an accurate baseline measurement of both organic and active carbon in the soil, Interra^® Scan can enable growers to adjust their farming systems leading to long-term soil health benefits. ″Healthy soils can not only improve food production but also mitigate climate change. They have a critical role to play as a natural carbon sink. Investment in precision innovations like Interra^® Scan means growers will be able to avoid treating the entire field in the same way by making informed decisions about exactly what to apply where and how much,″ Alexandra Brand explained.

″Given the current economic situation and the cost of lime, fertilizers and seeds, this can offer immediate economic value to growers, as well as a potential long-term solution that may help them to reduce carbon emissions and tackle climate change through regenerative agricultural practices,″ said Robert Renwick, Head Business Sustainability EAME.

About Interra^® Scan service

The in-field process of collecting data includes two steps: First, the soil is scanned with gamma-ray detection technology by SoilOptix^® to map all of the common nutrient and physical soil properties while physical soil samples are collected. The raw scan, soil data and soil samples are then combined and processed to produce up to 27 high-definition soil property layers. Growers have easy on-the-go access via a digital platform to view the results in a unique soil properties map and develop variable rate application maps for their crop input applications.