Taranis collaborates with three AgTech companies on drone-based aerial app to increase soybean yield

Four agricultural technology (AgTech) companies have announced the results of a trial in the US whereby they collaboratively implemented drone-based technologies to diagnose a field issue, prescribed a solution, delivered a targeted treatment, and verified an effective end-to-end system. 

 

The companies involved were Taranis, Phytobiotics North America, Continuum Ag and Rantizo.

 

Trials were conducted on six of Continuum Ag’s 50×250 foot soybean plots near Ainsworth, Iowa.

 

Taranis performed scans of the fields at sub-millimeter resolution using the company’s proprietary AI2 technology and successfully identified the nutrient status of each individual leaf using an automated AI-based system.

 

On those sections of the plots that Taranis identified as nutrient deficient, Phytobiotics generated a targeted intervention/solution in the Taranis platform, and exported it via Shapefile to be deployed on Rantizo’s spray drone.

 

In total, three different treatments were applied on two trial plots each. Adjacent non-treated strips were used as control checks.

 

The trial design was developed by Mitchell Hora, who is CEO and president of Continuum Ag as well as a seventh-generation farmer, with the objective of demonstrating the precise placement of a foliar micronutrient by a drone in a late season soybean crop and testing the resulting effectiveness.

 

He commented: “Sustainable agriculture is best attained when leading products and management practices are used together.  This field trial showcased a perfect collaboration of tech and soil health.”

 

Ofir Schlam, CEO and co-founder of Taranis, added: “We are thrilled to collaborate with such reputable AgTech innovators and show the capacity for drone-enabled technologies to help farmers maximize their yield potential through every step of the farming process.

 

“In a time of climate change and geopolitical upheaval, these trials show that sustainable farming can be achieved—and even flourish—when technology becomes part and parcel of the farming process.”