BASF and Ontera collaborate on precision diagnostics

The platform analyses and quantifies multiple characteristics in less than 20 minutes, enabling farmers to address potential yield issues and threats to their harvest before they take hold.

According to the companies, the collaboration between BASF and Ontera has the potential to provide farmers with easy-to-use, laboratory-quality molecular information in the field to enable early, more precise treatment of plant diseases and ensure healthy, high quality yields.

Catch threats to yield and quality early on

“Innovative diagnostic technology to catch threats to yield and quality early on is vital for modern, sustainable agriculture,” said Jürgen Huff, Senior Vice President Research and Development Crop Protection from BASF’s Agricultural Solutions division. “Our customers are professionals who expect innovation at the highest standards, and Ontera’s platform is a great complement to the strong innovation portfolio of BASF. It provides farmers with critical information needed to save crops, reduce losses and optimise pesticide application.”

_{Text continues underneath image}

The collaboration between BASF and Ontera has the potential to provide farmers with easy-to-use, laboratory-quality molecular information in the field to enable early, more precise treatment of plant diseases and ensure healthy, high quality yields. – Photo: BASF

Analysis in minutes

Ontera’s platform uses silicon nanopore single-molecule sensors for multi-plex measurement of nucleic acids, proteins and small molecules. Lightweight and durable enough to be used in the field, it produces a quantitative analysis of traits, pathogens and pathogen resistance in just minutes, avoiding time-consuming laboratory procedures that make in-season, targeted application of crop protection products difficult.

Just how does our one-pore technology work? Nanopore sensors exploit small, brief changes in electronic current as molecules move through the pore, one by one. Watch it in action in this video. pic.twitter.com/Aa0zhBNKi2

— Ontera (@OnteraInc) May 8, 2019