Technology

Benefits

2 minute
installation

Quantitative water
uptake measurment

Actionable irrigation
insights

Accurate plot
status

Plant stress
monitoring

Why plant sensing?

Plant-based sensors provide farmers with a unique opportunity to monitor the water status of their crops and make informed decisions about irrigation and pest/disease management. Essentially, these sensors use plants as "biosensors" to measure the interplay between soil moisture, atmospheric conditions, and plant response. By continuously monitoring these factors, plant-based sensors can provide valuable data for optimizing crop health and productivity.

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What makes us different?

Sap flow sensors have been largely abandoned because of technical challenges and the availability of simpler indirect measures for measuring a crop's water status. These indirect measures are easier to use, but they do not provide a direct measure of a crop's water use. We have developed a novel sensor technology that is a game-changer in the precision irrigation market, offering unparalleled accuracy, simplicity, and reliability in measuring actual crop water consumption.

What are we sensing?

Our sensor uses a novel heat dissipation model to measure the movement of water (sap flow) within the sapwood (xylem) of trees through the process of evapotranspiration (ET). The distortion of the heat field generated around the sensor probe is directly related to the velocity of water movement, which is then converted to the volume of water used by the tree using the sapwood area. This enables us to accurately measure the actual water use of trees and gain valuable insights into their physiological processes.

Unlocking tree water flow variability

Locating the optimal spot to place the sensor on a tree can be challenging, like trying to locate a needle in a haystack. To overcome this challenge, we developed a robust water balance algorithm that accounts for any potential variability due to environmental conditions and biological factors. This allows us to confidently place the sensor almost anywhere on the tree and accurately determine the amount of water transported within the tree's sapwood (xylem). Our solution has been shown to achieve 90% accuracy, ensuring reliable and consistent results.

How does the Platform work?